Guardian Angel II: War of the Seven Sins
by Xelskyr
Summary: Sequel to Guardian Angel. It's been a year and Matt is an accomplished Deputy Soul Reaper. Everything is back to normal, or so he thinks. When cloaked strangers appear in Seattle, it's up to him to find out who they are before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1: We Meet Again

Guardian Angel II:

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 1

**We Meet Again  
**

**Disclaimer: **Me still no own Bleach

I'm back baby! I told you I wasn't waiting to put up the sequel! I couldn't make you guys suffer like that, I'm a merciful god. Anyway, we've got another awesome and much more dangerous adventure ahead of us, and I hope you'll join me again.

We've got new villains and friends, and some familiar returning character as well. It'll start a bit slow as things begin to uravel themselves, but the fight scens for which I am famous will be coming at you in full force and in mass quantity! Ira and the mysterious cloaked figures you saw in the Epilogue will be making their return soon as well.

Let's get rollin'!

* * *

_Approximately one year after events of Guardian Angel_

It was late at night and Matt was laying back on his bed, just finishing up some math homework and listening to his Ipod. He was just about done when suddenly his deputy badge went of. A year of being a Soul Reaper and he _still_ never got used to that thing going off.

He sighed, shut off the Ipod, and gripped the badge allowing him to easily jump out of the gigai. Once he was out of his artificial body, he loosened up all his limbs; he hadn't been out of that gigai in almost a week. He reached out with his spiritual senses and felt the Hollow's presence; it was downtown.

He jumped out his window and ran at top speed to the downtown area. As he made his way there, he thought about how odd it was for a Hollow to attack downtown. Hollows usually always stayed in less populated areas like suburbs or rural areas. One attacking someplace as populated as downtown Seattle was a suicide move on their part, there were at least three Soul Reapers already on patrol there. Matt was obligated to show up; seeing as he was a deputy Soul Reaper, he was the highest ranking person in the city.

He could sense it, there was already someone engaging the Hollow, but it felt like they were losing. By his estimation, he was almost half a mile away from the battle site. He sped up and resorted to shunpo to cover more ground, if that Soul Reaper was losing, he had to get there soon.

* * *

What a horrible first night on the job. Koshino had graduated from the Soul Reaper academy four months ago, and she was able to get into the thirteenth division through some strings her family pulled. She did some work at the barracks until two weeks ago when she was informed that one of the Soul Reapers was killed in action and there was a gap in the roster. She was given the open slot which just happened to be in Seattle.

Needless to say she took it without hesitation, and tonight was her first night on her shift. Soul Reaper shifts were on a cycle of days. She had it from tonight, which was Friday, and her shift ended on Sunday at exactly the same time. Of course, at the moment she was regretting taking the job.

She'd only been here an hour in a half and she was already staring death in the face. She'd sensed a Hollow a little ways away from where she already was and went to investigate. The Hollow ambushed her and had injured her left arm, which was the arm she wielded her zanpakuto with. It was bleeding profusely and she was feeling a little dizzy from the loss of blood. The Hollow stood over her and was readying to strike again. Koshino put up her zanpakuto in a vain attempt to block the attack, but it wouldn't really make much difference.

As the fist was brought down on her, she felt an arm around her waist and knew she was being pulled to the side. She landed less than gracefully against a heating unit, but she was unharmed. She looked over at the Hollow; there was someone else there facing it down. She couldn't see his face, but recognized the brown cloak immediately. It was Matt Anderson; she felt a wave of relief wash over at his presence. If anyone could handle the Hollow, he could.

He took in a deep breath and she watched in amazement as he breathed fire straight from his mouth and cooked the Hollow alive. After a full minute of constant fire, the Hollow was gone, and only a huge scorch mark remained where it stood only a moment ago. With the threat eliminated, he turned his attention to her. She would have gotten up, but she had gotten even more dizzy and felt herself slowly slip into unconsciousness.

Matt stood over the Soul Reaper, her arm was bleeding and she was unconscious from the looks of it. He couldn't very well leave her here, she was too injured to wait. Besides, he felt like he should know her from somewhere, she _seemed_ familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on where he'd met her before. Either way he picked her up, sliding one arm under her knees and the other under her arms.

He didn't sense any other Hollows nearby so he could head back home, and besides, it wasn't like his parents could see her, she could stay while he patched her up and her wounds healed. He jumped from building to building back to his house, carrying the limp Soul Reaper in his arms.

All the way home he looked down at her wondering where he'd seen her before. "Who are you?" he asked himself.

He finally landed on his roof, jumped down to the ground and crawled in through his rooms window. It was a good thing his house was only one floor. His rooms lights were still on and his gigai looked like it was merely asleep, to fool his parents in case they walked in while he was gone. He set the girl down for a second as he jumped back into said gigai and cleared off his bed of his school gear. With that, he placed her down on his bed and reached underneath it for a special box he kept under there filled with bandages, disinfectants, and other medical supplies he used to fix himself up on the rare instances he was injured.

He ripped open her sleeve to get a better look at the wound. It went all the way down her upper left arm, it looked like a bite mark. He reached into his medical box and brought out a bottle of disinfectant and sprayed the wounds, cleaned them with a rag, and then brought out some bandages and ripped some off with his teeth. He wrapped the white cloth around the blood splattered arm and tied it up. With that she was pretty much set, but she might need more than just a patch job of bandages. For now, he'd let her have the bed; he grabbed the blanket and threw it over her.

He went to his closet and pulled out an extra blanket and pillow and settled in on the floor next to the bed. He sighed and rested his head against the soft puffy fabric, instantly falling asleep.

* * *

Koshino woke with the sun shining in her eyes. She rolled onto her side; realizing she was under blankets and in a bed, she sat up quickly, wondering where she was. She was in a room with light blue walls, but before she could take any further mental notes about the room, she heard a voice from her right.

"About time you woke up, I was beginning to think my little patch job wasn't gonna do it."

She looked over to her right and saw someone with black hair sitting at a desk. He turned around in his chair and looked directly at her, and she again recognized him instantly. She remembered that she had been bitten in the arm and reached at the wound, only to find it dressed and tended to. He came over and sat on the end of the bed indian style, staring intently at her.

"So...who are you. I feel like I should know you from somewhere, but I honestly can't remember where."

She almost felt hurt that he didn't remember her, but she put that aside for the moment.

"I'm Koshino Nagasawa, we met about six months ago when my zanpakuto class took a trip here, Lieutenant Yester was there."

Matt immediately smack his forehead with his palm and sighed. "_Now_ I remember you! Top of your class right?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Well I can assume that since your here you graduated right?"

Again she nodded. "That's right, I'm in the thirteenth division now."

"Nice, I almost ended up in that division. Anyway, your wound isn't fully healed, I don't have all the medicine the Soul Society does, so you can stay here if you don't feel up to patrolling around today."

"Thank you very much, I wouldn't be much use with an injured fighting arm anyway."

He rolled backwards off the bed, accidentally falling onto his head, and quickly stood up with a sheepish grin. Koshino couldn't help but giggle.

"Right, we'll I guess I'll go grab you some breakfast, you're probably hungry."

"Very, thank you."

He grinned again. "Back in a sec."

He walked down the hall and she heard his muffled activities from his kitchen. While he was gone she looked around his room more, it seemed a somewhat more quaint than she had imagined. She had though that he would live in a place a bit more luxurious, to match the respect he'd garnered. Of course, she was used to living in large houses; her estate was easily three times as large as this house and twice as tall.

She pushed the trivial thoughts aside when he came rushing back down the hallway. He pushed open the door with a plate in his hands.

"Okay, I'm not sure what you eat for breakfast in the Soul Society, I've only spent all of two days there, but this was the best I could find."

He handed her the plate, a fork, and a knife.

"What is it?"

"Only the best breakfast food in the world of the living; waffles!" (I LIKE WAFFLES!)

"I already put on some syrup, it'll add flavor."

She looked unsure about the food in front of her, but none the less cut off a square and took a bite.

"Wow, this has a very sweet taste to it," she said with surprise.

"Told ya. I'll let you finish up, then I'll take another look at that arm."

He sat down next to her on the bed with a book and a smaller notebook that had many mathematic problems on it. He seemed to be going down a list of equasions and solving them.

"What are you doing?"

"Probably the most evil creation of man; homework. I almost finished last night, but then I had to come save you," he said still engrossed in his book.

"Oh...sorry."

"Ah, don't sweat it, saving you was more important than finding some stupid common monomial. Besides, I hate homework, I'd take any excuse at all to get out of doing it."

They sat there for a bit in silence; Matt doing his work and Koshino finishing her breakfast. Koshino decided that she would get an answer to at least one of her questions.

"Can I ask you something?"

Matt looked up from his work. "Sure, what is it?"

"Why did you choose to stay here in the world of the living instead of just joining a division in the Soul Society?"

He sighed and closed his book, then layed back on the bed.

"My family and friends. They can't see Hollows, well my family can't anyway. I was killed in broad daylight in the park by a Hollow, which makes me think the Soul Reapers here can't do their job very well. Not you of course, that was back before I even met you," he corrected himself.

"Anyway, I decided that I'd protect them myself, but if I joined a division, there'd be too many rules in place for me to protect them like I wanted. So I chose the class of Soul Reaper that had the least constraints, a Deputy. Now I get to stay here and live like a normal human and still fight Hollows," he finished.

Koshino nodded slowly. "I see."

"It wasn't easy getting this job either, I had to train my ass off for it. Luckily Ichigo..."

At the mention of Ichigo Kurosaki, Koshino almost spit out her last bite of waffle in surprise.

"You know Ichigo Kurosaki!?"

"Sure, who the hell do you think trained me," he said nonchalantly.

Of course, it all made sense. Ichigo Kurosaki was basically the strongest Soul Reaper alive, it figured that someone trained by him would be so well known in such a short time. Still, if that was the secret to how he became so strong, then she might be in trouble. She doubted Ichigo Kurosaki would be willing to take her in, or if the Soul Society would even allow it.

"Well, enough about training, just thinking about slave-driver-Kurosaki makes my arms hurt. Speaking of arms, I should probably replace the bandages of yours," he said reaching under his bead and revealing a box.

He opened it up and pulled out a large roll of white bandages.

"Can you roll up your sleeve please?"

She nodded and did just that. He slowly untied and unwrapped the cloth around her arm, trying to provoke pain in any way. For the most part he did a good job, but it did still sting. The wound itself was much better than yesterday, it didn't look quite as gruesome.

"Well, it's definetly improved, but you'll need a new set of bandeges, hold on a sec."

First he brought out a small bottle and popped off the lid.

"Okay, this is gonna sting a little, but it'll help the wound stay clean."

She held out her arm and he grasped it gently but firmly; it was strong, but not painfully strong. He sprayed the disinfectant into the open wound and she whimpered a bit at the sudden pain, but quickly relaxed. After that he began applying the bandeges.

He put them on slowly again to avoid any further agitation, but it didn't help the sting. Whether he knew it or not, he was actually leaning in a bit too close for her comfort. By the time he was finished dressing the wound again, she was a bit red in the face.

"So, you can just stay here until that arm of yours heals, or your shift ends. Which is when by the way?"

"Sunday afternoon, then I can return to the barracks."

"Right, well you're welcome here until you can head back. Just promise not to do anything to freak my parents out, they don't know about the Soul Society and stuff."

She nodded. "Yes sir."

He laughed and shook his head. "You don't have to call me sir, I hate that formal crap. Just call me Matt."

She smiled. "Alright...Matt."

* * *

**Okay, here we go again! I told you this would start kind of slow, but don't worry, the intrigue will start up soon. I can't stick around for a long ending statement like usual, I'm actually writing this in my tech class...don't sit there and judge me. I happen to know for a fact that Kuroi Amaya read this during SCIENCE CLASS once!**

**See ya, bells about to ring.**


	2. Chapter 2: An Unlikely Warning

Guardian Angel II:

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 2

**An Unlikely Warning  
**

**Disclaimer: **I shall never own Bleach

Okay, chapter two! Alright, this is where the story starts revving up to start. Things will be getting very exciting very fast so hang onto your underwear! Strange cloaked guy - a.k.a - Ira will be making his reappearance in this chapter for a short time. Just long enough to make things interesting.

On another note, I was listening to some music yesterday, when I thought to myself, 'hey, why not give my characters theme songs like on Bleach!', so I've already got Matts, and I'll take any suggestions on theme songs for Nathan, Koshino, or Holly. Come on guys, throw some songs my way!

Anyway, here's Matt's theme song.

Matt- **_Fighting_ by _Yellowcard _**(All Yellowcard fans, GIVE ME A SHOUT-OUT!)

* * *

It was now Saturday night…finally. Seeing as how Koshino was injured and unable to fight, Matt had double duty the entire day that day. That meant double of him having to show up _everywhere_, double the Hollows, and twice the exhaustion. He was utterly expended when he got home and plopped right down on the floor where his pillow and blanket were waiting to greet him.

He was lucky his gigai was already lying there, because he wasn't about to get up again after this, not unless a Hollow was literally knocking on his front door asking for his soul.

"I'm sorry," said Koshino in a soft tone.

"About what?" he asked, he voice muffled as his face was currently buried in his pillow.

"You have to do my job. Yesterday was my first day and I already screwed up."

Matt sighed heavily and rolled over onto his back and looked up at her.

"I'll let you in on a little secret; you've gotten a better start than I did. The life of a Soul Reaper was thrown in my face, so when I first started out, I didn't even know what a zanpakuto was."

She looked at him with an expression of shock, like he had just contradicted some ultimate universal truth.

"I didn't have the advantage of an academy to tell me how to be a Soul Reaper; all I had was Ichigo to teach me, a small shop in Japan to train in, and my goals to motivate me. Plus, in the three weeks or so that I trained there, do you have any idea how many times I almost got killed?"

"You almost got killed?"

"More times than I care to think about," he groaned.

"Listen, everybody sucks when they first start out. Despite what anyone's told you, there isn't an academy out there that can completely prepare you to be a Soul Reaper. Just because you screwed up doesn't mean you should give up, it just means you should get stronger so it doesn't happen again."

She had to admit, it made a lot of sense. She wasn't really sure how to get stronger though, she didn't have anyone to train her like Matt did. Another thing she was having trouble with was her shikai, it was still something that was somewhat a mystery to her.

"Um...Matt?"

He rolled over again. "Hm?"

"Did you ever...um," she stuttered. She felt like such an idiot asking him this.

"Did I ever what?"

"Did you ever have trouble with your shikai."

He immediately started laughing, resorting to holding his sides. Koshino's face reddened and she backed up against the wall and curled up into a ball in embarrassment.

"That was one of the times I almost died!" he said, still laughing.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, it took a near death experience for me to finally get it. I was so horrible when I first started out, but once you get Shikai, everything gets easier. You'll get it too, it just takes time; it's never easy for anyone."

"What was your spirit like?" she asked.

"Oh God, my zanpakuto spirit was such an ass when I finally met him!"

She couldn't help but laugh; he seemed to have this natural ability to cheer her up.

'**I'm still here you know.**' said Gabriel.

'_Oh, shut it. You really are an ass sometimes.'_

'**Is that any way to address the Angel of Death, I'm the Messenger of God himself you know?**'

'_It's funny when you can't to diddly-shit about it, so I figure I can get away with it for a while.'_

'**When you die and we're both in heaven, don't think I won't remember this, because I will.**'

'_Oh come on, we both know I can beat you down any day of the week!_' He mentally shouted back.

'**Well I'll have the rest of eternity to prove you wrong!**'

While Matt was having this mental war with Gabriel, Koshino watched him like he was crazy. She looked like he was speaking to someone, but his lips weren't moving. She leaned down and waved a hand in front of his face, and shook before reeling back in surprise.

"Whoa, sorry. My zanpakuto spirit has a sort of psychic link with me and he didn't appreciate me calling him an ass..._even though he knows it's true_!" thinking the last part.

"Well...anyway. Like I was saying, Shikai is tough, the only reason I got it so fast was because I used extreme measures to get it. You just started two weeks ago, there's no reason to pressure yourself so much. It's not like the fate of the world depends on you."

She looked down sullenly. "I know, it's just...my parents are the ones who got me into the Soul Reaper academy, even though they disapproved. I just want to show them that it was worth their time."

"Well, lets worry about all that stuff in the morning. For now, let's just go to sleep."

Matt rolled over onto his stomach again, and Koshino lay down on her back after turning off the lights. Matt was just about to fall asleep when his badge alarm went off again. He rolled over and whined; he was half tempted to just ignore it and go to sleep, but knew he couldn't do that.

"Damn it; I'll be back whenever," he groaned to Koshino.

He looked over at her to find she was already asleep. He laughed to himself at little before pulling the blankets up on her a little more, she barely had time to move them herself. She actually looked quite peaceful when she slept, the exact opposite of the insecure girl she appeared to be on the outside. He moved a stray strand of hair out of her face and smiled to himself, though he wasn't really sure why.

Ignoring it for the time being, he jumped out of his gigai and shot out his window.

* * *

Matt found it odd that there was another presence downtown, what was even more odd was that it wasn't a Hollow's and that there hardly seemed to be any trace of it left. There was no way his badge could have malfunctioned, and he was sure he felt a spiritual pressure somewhere. He checked again...yup, still there.

It was a peculiar energy signature too, it wasn't Soul Reaper or Hollow; it didn't feel remotely like either of them at all. He scratched his head before deciding to just head home and forget about it. As he was about to leave though, the spiritual pressure suddenly spiked, and from what he was sensing, it was right on top of him. He whirled around to try and locate its source, keeping a hand on Gabriel's hilt.

Suddenly it spiked again, and it was moving...fast. He jumped back just in time to dodge a spiritual blast that had obviously been meant for him. He caught the trajectory, and his gaze fell on a building across the street and about two other buildings down. Standing there was a man in a familiar cloak, the one he'd seen a few months ago.

Matt shunpo'd over to the building, and landed behind the cloaked figure before he could move. He held his claymore to his the strangers neck.

"So, you gonna tell me who you are, or am I gonna have to knock you senseless first?"

"Heh, I'd like to see you try."

Matt pushed his claymore closer to his neck. "I wouldn't be making smart remarks if I were you."

"Well lucky for me I didn't come to fight. Not this time anyway."

"Then why are you here?"

"Believe it or not, I'm here to give you a warning. There's something big on the horizon."

"What are you talking about?"

"Heh, I'm saying that there's gonna be an attack on the Soul Society in the next week."

That caught his interest. "By who?"

"That I can't tell you, but I can tell you it'll be in the Junrinan area of the Rukongai. It's a little warning shot, nothing major, but one of the higher ups of the organization that's orchestrating it will be there. If you time it right, you might be able to take him out."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Because, I want that organization dead as much as you eventually will. Just head to the Soul Society and let them know, I promise you won't be disappointed."

He looked up at the sky, seeming to be focusing on something. "...I've gotta go, any more time out here and they'll get suspicious."

"Wait!" yelled Matt, but he was already gone, seeming to just warp away into the darkness.

He stood there for a moment, hoping he would come back, but no. He then pondered whether or not to take the warning seriously. It was his obligation to report any possible threat to the Soul Society, but he honestly wasn't sure what to make of this one. He _did_ just take a tip from someone who'd attempted to kill him twice now.

No...no, he wasn't trying to kill him, his spiritual pressure would've allowed him to attack in much more force than he did. If anything, that was just his sick way of grabbing someones attention. He thought it over, but ultimatly decided that it was a prudent idea to report it, no matter the source.

With that, he hurried back home. He'd gather up his essentials, wake up Koshino, and they'd head to the division thirteen barracks. If anyone would listen to him, it'd be Jushiro and maybe Frosty.

He jumped rapidly across the building back to his house, the sooner he got to the Soul Society, the better prepared they'd be. He wasn't sure what purpose attacking the Rukongai would serve, but they must have some kind of plan in mind, otherwise the attack would be useless.

Either way, he had to hurry. Sure he had friends here, but he had friends in the Soul Society too. Nathan, Frosty, Rukia, Jushiro, and now Koshino. He wasn't sure when he started considering her a friend, but he supposed it didn't really matter. Maybe it was just because she was just as confused about being a Soul Reaper as he was when he was first starting out. She seemed a little overly shy, but that was understandable, she was in an enviroment she knew nothing about, he felt just as weird in the Soul Society.

He was so lost in his thoughts he almost passed his own house. He leaped though his window again, and almost tripped over his gigai before regaining his balance. He leaned over Koshino and shook her shoulder gently, which was sufficient to wake her.

"Huh...Matt? What's wrong?" she mumbled, still pretty much asleep.

"Koshino, we gotta go, now. We're heading to the Soul Society, something came up," he said urgently as he went to his desk and grabbed a small pill.

'_Man it's a good thing I picked this thing up on my last visit._' he thought to himself.

He dropped the little thing in his gigai's mouth and it's eyes suddenly popped open. The artificial soul took control of the gigai and sat up quickly.

"Huh? Okay, what's going on?" asked the artificial soul.

"Look, I'm gonna be gone for a few days, so just try and stay away from as many people as possible, and act normal. Go to school, do the work, come home, and avoid saying anything stupid."

"Eh, sounds easy enough," he shrugged, then laid back down on the floor.

With that taken care of, Matt summoned his assigned hell butterfly. Once he had that, he turned back to Koshino, who'd fallen back asleep. Matt sighed and resorted to just picking her up much as he did when he first brought her here and opened a senkaimon. He walked through and made his way to the Soul Society.

* * *

Through his walk to the thirteenth division barracks he got some weird looks carrying Koshino like he was, but he was in a bit too much of a hurry to care. He got lucky, no one even got in his way this time; usually someone, (most of the time Kenpachi), would jump out and take him on a detour. Not this time though, he made it to the barracks with ease and was currently walking up the courtyard.

He was walking up the stairs when he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, hey Matt! Over here you bloody bastard!" yelled the voice.

Matt turned around to see the familiar shrub of red hair that he identified as Nathans. The brit was rushing up the stairs, dodging and weaving through the crowds of people.

"What's going on here?" he asked, gesturing towards Koshino.

"It's a long story man, I need to talk to Jushiro but you should come to, it's important."

He could tell Matt was serious and nodded, taking the lead and clearing the way through the mass of other Soul Reapers. Matt had been through the barracks enough now to know where to go if he wanted to talk to Jushiro, and didn't need Nathans guidance.

Matt stopped outside the door and let down Koshino. He shook her lightly, but she only stirred a bit. He was getting a bit frsutrated and resorted to just randomly shaking her in every direction and growling loudly. She suddely shot up with a start and her head rammed into Matt's mouth, knocking him back to the other wall.

He groaned in pain and held his mouth; it wasn't bleeding or anything, but it sure as hell hurt. Koshino, who was now fully awake, realized what she inadvertently did and kneeled down next to him randomly spouting apologies.

"I'm so sorry Matt, I didn't know you were right in front of me!"

"Ah, it's alright, it wasn't that big of a deal...ow," he said still holding his mouth.

He stood up and shook his head, trying to relieve himself of the pain. He pushed it off for a moment and walked up to the captains office doors. He knocked first as always then pushed the doors aside and walked in. As soon as he entered the room he was caught in a huge bear hug. There was only one girl in either world who could make him suffocate like that.

"Matt, I knew it was you! how have you been?" asked Rukia as she finally let him go.

"Pretty good, but I've got something important to talke to the captain about, you should probably stay to, I might need your help."

He stepped past her and saw Jushiro patiently waiting for him. Matt waved and was given the gesture to sit down.

"So Matt, it's been quite a long time, what is that you need?" he asked in his regular helpful tone.

"I don't know whether the info I got was legit or not, but I got a tip that there's gonna be an attack on the Junrinan area of the Rukongai," replied Matt.

Jushiro looked concerned but not shocked.

"There have been some reports of strange happenings in your area, so it's not surprising you'd be the one to report this. I suspected something along these lines would happen eventually. Don't worry Matt, I trust your judgment, you wouldn't have reported this unless you thought it was a threat."

"Thanks Jushiro. I'd feel better if I stayed here for the next few days, the info I got suggested it would happen somewhere in the next week, so I want to stay close."

Jushiro nodded. "I understand, but unfortunatly we have no more rooms at the barracks. I can have you set up with some temporary lodgings if you like."

"That would be fi-"

"I've got a place for you to stay," interjected Koshino.

"You do?" asked Matt.

She smiled and nodded. "I'd be happy to take you there myself after you're done here."

"Wow, thanks," he smiled.

"Very well, now that that is settled, I'll call a meeting with the other captains and we'll discuss the situation. In the meantime, you might as well get settled in Matt," suggested the captain.

"Sounds good to me."

He stood and walked side by side with Koshino and Nathan took the rear. Rukia went off to do whatever she did in her free time, and Jushiro returned to his paperwork. Once back out in the courtyard, Matt bid Nathan goodbye for the time being and he and Koshino left for wherever she was leading him. All the while, he was running through what would happen in the coming days.

* * *

**There we are, chapter two finally done! I hope you guys enjoyed it, next chapter will be up soon. Oh, and good news for all of you who have taken a liking to Koshino already, (I don't really know who you people are yet.), next chapter will have a bit of fluff in it. **

**Just keep in mind I have the emotional capacity of a squirrel, so just because I'm good at describing the way two Soul Reapers brain each other with magical swords, doesn't mean I'm good with the mushy gushy romantic stuff. It's just not my department, but I'll give it my best shot.**

**Now, all you readers out there, I'm serious. I need idea's for theme songs. Even if you think it's a stupid idea just roll with it or I might be tempted to just delete the entire story! MWAHAHAHAHAHA! ...No, I wouldn't really do that, be in all seriousness, just help me out with this. I'll be your best-est friend!**

**Don't forget to review and all that junk that I always beg you guys to do.**


	3. Chapter 3: Downtime

Guardian Angel II:

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 3

**Downtime  
**

Alright, this is sort of a break before the action next chapter, so it's a little boring. That's not going to stop you from reading it, I know, I'm just giving you fair warning. Another thing to warn you about, this chapter consists of my feeble attempts at fluff. I've stated already, I"M NOT GOOD WITH THIS EMOTIONAL STUFF! I'm and action writer, romance is my weakness, my kryptonite if you will. I can in no way, shape, or form, promise the quality of the emotionally touchy parts of this chapter, you have been warned.

On a higher note, I've made my final decision on character theme songs! I've got Nathan's and Holly's, but am forgoing giving Koshino one just yet. I'm going to wait until she develops more as a character before granting her one. So anyway, these are their official theme songs, so remember to listen to them when you deem it appropriate!

Nathan- _**Everyday Combat **_**by**_** Lostprophets **_(Not only represents the hectic life of a Lieutenant, but also a reference to his former military occupation while he was alive.)

Holly- _**Everything **_**by**_** Yellowcard**_ (Thank you sooooooo much HistugayaToshiro96, I had no idea what song to stick her with until you suggested this!)

* * *

"Wow…" was all Matt had to say.

They'd just arrived at Koshino's 'house', and she was leading him thought the courtyard to the main complex. Turns out her 'house' was a full blown estate and her family happened to be rich as hell. The grass was neatly cut, the pathways were pure white stone, her house was three floors, and there were numerous other smaller buildings surrounding it. He marveled at the size of the place; not even Holly's place was this big, and her parents pulled great money! They walked up the front stairs and opened the doors.

"So are you sure this is okay with your parents and everything? I mean, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't appreciate me dropping in without permission."

"Don't worry, as soon as I explain to them who you are they'll have no problems with it. They'll probably think this is the first good thing to come from letting me be a Soul Reaper."

"Why were they so opposed to the idea of you being a Soul Reaper anyway, a lot of nobles are Soul Reapers?"

She sighed. "Yes, but my parents are pretty overbearing. They mean well, but sometimes they can be a bit too strict."

"Wish I could say the same, both my parents are gone a lot. I'm usually alone when I come home from school, and I hardly see my dad outside the few hours he's not working or sleeping."

"That must be tough," she said sympathetically.

"Well, tough isn't really the word I'd use. Frustrating is more accurate, but what means the most is that hey care enough to work so hard, even for the little money that actually get."

"They were actually a driving force when I was training. They always worked hard so I guess I expected the same from myself; it paid off too," he explained.

She understood what he meant. She really had to admit, the rumors about him didn't hold a candle to actually talking to him. He really seemed like a hard working guy; he didn't seem interested in money or status, all he wanted to do was protect people. She really admired him for that.

In fact, to her, he seemed like the epitome of Soul Reaper ideals. He was honest, strong, caring, patient, and funny; anyone would be lucky to be his friend, she knew she counted herself lucky just to have met him.

"Oh crap, I just remembered! I forgot to call Holly and tell her where I was going; she's gonna be pissed, we were going to train together tomorrow!"

When he mentioned the girl, she felt a pang of jealously. She wasn't sure why.

"Holly's you girlfriend, huh?" she asked.

He laughed. "Nah, she's just been my best friend, we've known each other since first grade. She's spiritually aware, so I've been helping her develop her powers."

"Oh, I see."

They were finally up the stairs and inside the house, which was just as big on the inside as it was on the outside. Almost immediately after they entered the building, there was already someone there to meet them. Matt assumed it was probably a servant or hired worker.

"Lady Koshino, what an unexpected surprise! I see you've brought a guest, shall I inform your mother and father of your arrival?"

She nodded. "That would be most helpful Hoshi, thank you."

He smiled back. "Not a problem milady."

As they waited in the main foyer, Matt examined the entire room. There were vases and tapestries everywhere, not to mention the alarming amount of gold. _Everything_ seemed to have at least some gold to it. It put any house he'd been to before, to shame.

He also noticed that there were many more servants than he thought there would be. He knew from common sense that a family like this would probably have servants, else why have it so big? There were a lot of them though, some of them looked his age, but most seemed older than Nathan. He always did have trouble calculating the age difference when it came to the Soul Society. Everyone looked one age, but that didn't mean anything; it all depends on when you die. The oldest person could have died last week and the youngest a decade ago and you wouldn't be any the wiser unless told differently.

Koshino was definitely around his age though, noble families were usually the oldest in the Soul Society, so it stood to reason that she was most likely born here, making her around fifteen or sixteen. That being said, she had a long life ahead of her, people in the Soul Society, even those in the Rukongai, usually lived at least a millennium provided there was no desease or other threats of death. The same rule applied to Matt, his gigai would age as a normal being, as they were designed to do so, but his true self, his spitit self would age at a much, _much_ slower pace.

Despite this though, he wasn't upset. He'd see his parents and Holly again here, and they'd have about another one or two thousand years together. He couldn't wait until he could tell his parents what he was really doing in the evening instead of his homework. They'd probably freak out first, then just come to terms with it. The best part was, he was in pretty good with the Seireitei, so if he asked, he could probably get his family a nice place to live. At the very least they'd be granted a spot in the first district of the Rukongai; he was sure he could bend his way through the rules just once.

He was pulled from his thoughts when his enhanced hearing caught the sound of soft footsteps coming from behind one of the doors across the room. As they were pushed open, they revealed three figures. The first was the servant that greeted them, Hoshi. The second was a large man, with chocolate brown hair and a light stubble grazing his chin and cheeks. He looked to be the same height as his own father who was about 6'1. He wore a long green robe that looked to be made of some sort of silk linen. The third and last figure was a slim woman maybe three inches shorter than the man. She had brown hair as well, but of a much darker shade, seeming almost black like his own hair. She wore a similar green silk robe, but obviously smaller to fit her smaller form and shorter height.

Shortly after their arrival, Koshino rushed passed him and gave a hug to the man first and the woman soon after.

"Mother, father, it's so great to see you again!" she said happily.

Matt just stood some ways away with his arms crossed, trying not to disrupt the family reunion. He receded into his brown over cloak that Ichigo had given him a year ago as a going away present. His mind wandered off for that split second, considering visiting his old teacher after his was all over. He hadn't seen him in a while, and he wanted to see how much he'd progressed by challenging him again. Plus he had to catch up on pissing off Grimmjow, the arrancar had gotten off too easy last time.

"Who's this lad?" asked Koshino's father suddenly. That brought Matt back from his own little world, realizing he'd suddenly been sucked into the conversation.

"Oh right, this is Matt Anderson, he's the Deputy Soul Reaper that's in charge of the sector where I've been assigned. He's been a great commanding officer," she complimented.

Matt had to admit, he like being referred to as a 'commanding officer', it sounded pretty cool.

Koshino's father stepped forward and extended his hand to Matt, who took it without hesitation.

The man laughed as they were introduced, "Ah, a strong grip, I like that. I trust you've been keeping my daughter safe from Hollow's and the like?"

He smiled sheepishly and nervously scratched the back of his head, "Doing my best, but Koshino can take care of herself well enough alone."

"Not to be inhospitable, but to what honor do we owe this visit?" spoke up her mother.

"Well actually, the captains have stuck me with a pretty important assignment here in the Soul Society. The barracks were all full but Koshino offered to ask if I could stay here. I told her it wasn't necessary on the way here, but she insisted. I don't mean to intrude or anything like that."

"He'll only be here a few days and we have plenty of room. Please, he doesn't have anywhere else to stay. Pleeeeaaaassseee," she begged, ending it with the greatest puppy-dog pout Matt had ever seen, and Holly was pretty good at those.

"I...suppose it wouldn't be much of a concern. Very well, you may stay."

Matt bowed, which he didn't do much, not even to captains most of the time. "Thank you sir. Now that that's settled though, I'd appriciate it if you'd excuse me. I have some friends I haven't seen in a while and they'd be a help with the assignment I'm working on."

Koshino's father bowed back, which surprised Matt a bit. "Of course, you may be on your way."

"Did you want to come along Koshino, or did you want to stay with your family?" Matt asked.

She looked up at her parents who nodded. "Go on ahead dear, you know you can come back later," said her mother. She gave the two of them one last hug, and then followed Matt out the door.

* * *

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya of the tenth division was out for a walk around the Seireitei. This was one of the few times where both his and Rangiku's paperwork was completely finished and he took the free time to get some fresh air. He took in the evening air and sighed, knowing a day like this wasn't going to come again for a good few months, at least not for him.

He turned a corner, then stopped dead. He felt a spiritual pressure making its way toward him, and he recognized it. It was a pressure that filled him with utter dread, it made him want to run back to the barracks and hide under his desk until it was gone, but he knew he was too far out and his pursuer was too fast. All he could do was accept his fate as the spiritual pressure closed in on him and was finally upon him.

Immediately his felt his head snap forward as an arm wrapped around his neck, and felt a fist rub against his hair in a noogie-like manner. He already knew who it was.

"Wassup Frosty!"

"Matt...GET OFF ME!" he shouted.

Matt just laughed and released him, waiting for the short captain to finish smoothing out his hair.

"Matt, why did you do that!? He's a captain, you can't just go around harassing people!"

He laughed again. "Relax Koshino, Frosty and me go back a while, he's cool with it."

She giggled a bit. "Frosty?"

Toshiro's forhead was now a nexus of popping veins. "She didn't hear that, you didn't hear that! Damn it, how many times do I have to tell you to quit calling me Frosty!? You know I hate that nickname."

"Yeah...but here that's what makes it delicious."

"Yeah whatever, why are you here anyway? I can only assume you want something."

"You'll get filled in on all the details later, right now I just thought I should let you know that I'll probably need your help in the next few days."

"Got yourself into deep shit, huh?"

"What else right? That's pretty much all I needed form you, I'll see ya around Frosty."

"It's captain Hitsugaya damn it!" he yelled as both Matt and Koshino jumped away. The young captain was flustered, but quickly calmed himself and returned to his walk. He might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

* * *

The whole fiasco of catching up to and bugging Toshiro had taken about half an hour, and that meant it was around eight o'clock. The sun was just about to set and Matt had gotten hungry. The two of them had stopped to grab some rice balls; Matt had given them a try at Rukia's insistence the last time he visited and he instantly took a liking to them. They were now sitting at Matt's favorite spot in the Seireitei, the cliff of the former execution grounds. It had an ureal view of the Soul Society and when accompanied by the sunset, it was probably the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

"Wow, I never knew it was so beautiful up here," commented Koshino.

"Yeah, I come here at least once every time I'm in the Soul Society, it's my favorite spot for a number of reasons," agreed Matt.

"Why is this place so special to you?"

"For one, this is where me and Toshiro first became friends, even though we were braining each other with our zanpakuto's at the time."

"Why were you doing that?" she asked with a laugh.

"Well, to become a Deputy Soul Reaper, you need two things. You need the council of captains approval, and you need to meet the combat requirements. Those requirments state that Deputy Soul Reapers must be able to defeat or at least fight on par with a captain level Soul Reaper."

"So you were able to put up a good fight huh?"

"Good fight, hell I beat him! Granted it was through a technicality and we agreed it was more of a draw, but the point is I won."

"Well I'm glad; I haven't really told you this, but I'm really glad that I met you," she said, blood rushing to her face.

Matt didn't seem to notice (thick isn't he). "Not that I don't appreciate the compliment, but why me?"

"You just really made me feel better about myself. I've never had much faith in myself, even though I was top of my class. I just never though I was good enough, but when I talk with you about stuff, I kind of forget about all that."

"Glad I could help, but I don't see why you don't believe in yourself more. I already told you, you've already got a better start than me, all you need to do is gain some momentum and you'll get it," he reassured her.

There was a small bit of silence as they both finished off their food when Koshino suddenly said, "That Hollow that you saved me from...that was my first Hollow."

"You did better against it than I did when I fought my first Hollow," he said with a shrug.

"What happened when you fought your first Hollow?"

"Well first I died. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but you're still kickin' right?"

She laughed again, "I get your point."

"Ah, well I'm glad we're on the same page then."

He leaned back with his hands supporting his weight when he felt something warm under the palm of his left hand. He looked down and saw that he had accidently put his hand over hers and withdrew it.

"Sorry about that, didn't see your hand there," he said, actually turning red himself.

"I-it's alright," she studdered.

There was another bit of silence, this one a bit more awkward than the last. Koshino finally spoke up again.

"Hey Matt, do you have anyone special back home?"

He looked puzzled. "Special how?"

"You know..._special_."

"Uh...oh! No, no, nothing like that. I'm not exactly what you'd call 'socially graceful'. The only person who actually hangs out with me is Holly. I actually seem more popular here; who'd of thought I'd _actually_ be better off dead."

"Don't say that, they don't know what they're missing," she said, grabbing his arm gently without really thinking about it.

"Thanks, that sort of thing is kind of a sore spot. That meant a lot more than you know," he said, moving his other hand onto hers, again, without really thinking.

They smiled at each other -a blush threatening to creep up on both their faces- until Matt noticed the sun had all but gone down.

"Well, it's getting late, we should probably head back," he suggested.

"Y-yeah, we should get some rest."

With that, the two rose and headed back to Koshino's estate; all the way trying to avoid eye contact with each other. They both headed off to bed without a word more to each other, though they both ask the same question to themselves.

_What was wrong with me back there?_

* * *

**There...finally done. After so many fight scenes and such, it felt extremely weird writing a chapter that has the exact polar opposite as fight scenes. I thought it sort of sucked, but you guys might have a different opinion, I don't know. The important thing is that I _tried_...right?**

**Anywho, next chapter will have a fight scene, something for which I am a bit famous. Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to take a shower to wash this whole experience off me, I feel so wrong.**


	4. Chapter 4: Acedia

Guardian Angel II:

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 4

**Acedia**

**Disclaimer: **Bleach I do not own.

Alright, I'm back in my element in this chapter; action packed action! The awkwardness of last chapter has been washed off for the most part, though the after-stench shall still remain in this chapter for a bit. Whether I like it or not, I've gotta get good at this emotional writing because the Matt/Koshino relationship is kinda -scratch that- _really_ important to the story.

I'm sure I'll get better as this story progresses, but for now I'm still somewhat of a novice in this aspect. Anyway, enough of this unhelpful jabbering, you guys came to read the new chapter, not listen to my whining, so here you go!

* * *

Bored…that was what Matt was feeling right now…bored. He'd spent the last three hours in the Rukongai and not one thing had happened. Two days had passed since he first arrived in the Soul Society. He was beginning to think that the tip he'd gotten was nothing but a hoax.

In other news, things between him and Koshino had gotten a little weird since the day he'd gotten here. They were still speaking, but in a more reserved manner. Nathan had neglected to show up today, he wasn't entirely sure why. Toshiro had gotten bored and decided to head off…somewhere. So here they were; he and Koshino walking around the first district of the Rukongai with absolutely nothing to do.

The weirdest thing was, was that he wasn't even sure why he felt so embarrassed around her all of a sudden. He'd gotten to know here a bit, but that's all he thought it was, idle chatter and superfluous conversation. Nothing else past that had even crossed his mind until that evening at the former execution grounds. Now though, he was having some doubts. That particular incident had confused him; sure Koshino was nice, and she was interesting, but once again, he hadn't expected to even consider thinking anything past that.

**"Ugh, what's wrong with you," **groaned Gabriel suddenly.

_"What makes you think something's wrong?" _he mentally said with a defensive tone.

**"Well, the weather in here is oddly cloudy and it stinks to high heavens, so something must be bothering you."**

_"I don't feel like talking about it," _he groaned back.

**"Don't give me that, it's the girl isn't it. Koshino right?"**

_"I already said I didn't want to talk about it."_

**"Look, I may not know much about courting women and such, but I can at least help you make sense of your feelings. I am a near all knowing being you know."**

Matt mentally sighed; this was pretty much the first time Gabriel had expressed any interest in his personal life at all. Something had to be up.

_"What's got you all interested all of a sudden anyway?"_

**"Because the longer you're all emotionally confused and such, the longer I'll have to endure this horrid environment. Plus, even though you and I don't exactly get along, I can't help but feel a little proud that you finally have an object of romantic interest."**

_"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back the truck up! I never said I liked her like that!" _Matt defended.

**"Not yet you don't, but the only thing that will truly tell is time."**

Matt mentally sighed again. _"Yeah well don't get your hopes up, even if I did end up feeling that way, which I know I won't, what makes you think she'd feel the same?"_

**"Well what's wrong with her?" **Gabriel inquired.

_"Nothing! She's fine, but I've got bigger things to worry about at the moment! I'm not denying that she's fun to be around, or that she isn't pretty, but I just have too much on my plate as it is!" _he argued.

**"Alright fine, but _I_ already know she'd feel the same about you if you told her. I don't think you realize how much she idealizes you. You're already practically her role model, I'm sure for her to realize you actually had feeling for her would seem like a dream come true."**

_"You exaggerate _way_ too much," _said Matt unconvinced.

**"You think I'm jesting?" **

_"Pretty much, yeah. I mean, come on, I know I'm strong and my story might be a little inspirational, but seriously, that doesn't always mean I get girls. The only girl to come within three feet of me and get to know me was Holly, and she's my best friend so she's automatically out of the running by default."_

**"You don't give yourself enough credit, that's your problem."**

_"It's not that either, I know what I accomplished can't be done by just anyone, and I really feel proud of what I was able to do in such a short time. One thing I'll always feel uncomfortable about though, is girls; I just don't have luck when it comes to romance."_

**"Look, I'm not suggesting that you try to find a relationship where there isn't one, I only ask that you keep your mind open. You never know what could happen."**

_"...Yeah, alright."_

Just as they were about to break the link, Matt sensed a sudden rise in spiritual pressure nearby. By extension, so did Gabriel, and they both knew this was it.

_"Looks like we're up to bat."_

**"Good luck," **he said, then cut the link.

"Koshino, you feel that?" he asked.

She nodded. "I did; it's coming from over there." She pointed over to the east a bit, probably only a block or so in distance.

"Come on!" he said, using shunpo to cover the distance as fast as possible.

They bounded over rooftops and could already see a crowd forming around whoever or whatever was emmiting the pressure they were feeling. They stopped just above the spectacle to assess who was down there and what was happening.

From the looks of it, there was only one person, which made Matt worry more. One person emmiting that kind of energy would be difficult to take down without causing damage to the surrounding area, and he definetly didn't want anyone caught in the crossfire.

The man himself looked around twenty to twenty-three. His hair was black; long and extremely messy. It looked as though he hadn't combed or brushed it in weeks. Matt could also smell the stench all the way from where he was standing, he obviously hadn't bathed either. Even his face showed evidence of miscare; covered in dirt and grime and there were no sign that he even tried to clean it off. He seemed like a complete lazy slob, but his spiritual pressure said otherwise.

"Stay here Koshino, I'm gonna see who this guys is," he said, stepping to the edge of the roof.

"Why can't I come with you?"

"You can sense his pressure, he's way beyond you; just hang back for now."

She pouted but complied, taking a seat of the roof and waiting for his next move. With that Matt jumped down to face his would-be opponent. He looked completely uncaring as to his arrival, and still stood in place, unmoving.

"So, care to tell me who you are?" asked Matt.

"Why are you here, they said you wouldn't be here?" the man asked.

"Huh? what's that supposed to mean?"

He sighed heavily. "Never mind, it's too much work to try and explain everything. I don't suppose you'd just leave so I don't have to fight you, huh?"

"Nope, you're not hurting anyone here," he said determined and drawing his sword at the same time.

He sighed heavily again. "Damn, this day just got a whole lot more annoying. Oh well, no getting around this I guess; let's just hurry it up, I didn't even want this assignment in the first place."

Matt got ready to fight, but his opponent just stood there like a bump on a log.

"You sure you don't wanna...I don't know...get ready or something?" asked Matt, utterly confused by his antics, or lack there of.

"Just start this up already. I wanna go home," he groaned.

Matt didn't need any more provocation than that. He sped forward at top speed, heading directly at the long haired man. As he closed in, he noticed something odd. He wasn't moving, hell he wasn't taking any sort of defensive measures at all, he just stood there and took the blow to the shoulder that Matt delivered to him. Blood squirted out the right side of his upper torso but he didn't grunt in pain, he didn't even wince. He looked as though he didn't even feel it.

"You didn't...dodge it?"

"Eh, too much work. I figured it would take more energy to move and counter attack than it would to just take the hit and stay still."

At that, the man grabbed a hold of Gabriel with his right hand and pulled it forward. Matt fell forward with it, and felt the mans knee drive into his gut, knocking him back. As he landed, the man tossed him back Gabriel and took the same lazy stance he had when Matt first arrived.

"Why did you give me back my zanpakuto?" even more confused.

"Too heavy, you can have it back."

Was this guy even a fighter? Of course he was, he just nailed him in the gut faster than he'd seen anyone move before. From what he could tell, this guys reaction time and reflexes were exceptional, even faster than his own, but he lacked the drive or will to use them at all.

"So...what's your name anyway?" asked Matt.

"Acedia," he said in an uncaring tone.

"Acedia huh? Kind of an odd name."

"It's Latin, it means "absence of caring", that's what they tell me anyway."

Matt laughed. "Well, I can't say the name doesn't suit you."

"Hm," he grunted.

Matt threw away his brown over cloak, leaving only his standard black Soul Reaper robes. The cloak constricted movement and vision too much for someone like him, he'd need to fight with a little more effort himself. Next he gathered up his reiatsu and centered Gabriel out in front of him.

"Bring Heavens Wrath: **Gabriel**!" he shouted, releasing his Shikai.

The crowds of people backed away in a hurry when Matt was engulfed by the column of holy fires that made up his shikai blade. The inviting flames felt good on his body, it'd been way too long since he'd released his zanpakuto.

Koshino, who was still sitting upon the roof, looked on in wonder as Matt disappeared into flames that suddenly appeared around him. She watched intently as the flames died away, wondering what his Shikai would be like. Then she saw it, the magnificently beautiful burning blade that sparkled and shone like a small sun. The orange-yellow flames licking the air around the red hot superheated metal core; it was an awe inspiring sight in her eyes. Not only had his blade changed, his Soul Reaper robes were now white as new fallen snow, adding to the majesty of his released form.

Acedia sighed before sprinting forward to confront Matt. He attacked with his palm flat, hoping to inflict some blunt force trauma. His palm was blocked however, when it collided with the edge of the magma-hot blade. It's flames instantly began eating away his flesh and scorched his muscles. His bones even suffered some scarring before he pulled away, clutching the injury.

He looked down to inspect it; all the skin on his palm was completely gone, his muscles were raw and burned, and he could see the white of bone where his hand had directly touched the blade.

He sighed again. "You're just not gonna make this easy for me are you."

He reached behind his back and pullout out two tonfa-blades, holding one firmly in each hand. They were curved, which made them ideal for slashing and were extremely aerodynamic, and the fact that there were two of them mean that he could attack and defend at the same time.

He twirled them around in his hands a bit before sliding into and actual fighting stance for once.

"I hope you're happy, I absolutely hate doing this sort of thing. Way too much work for my tastes."

The two stared each other down for a few seconds, then the both of them disappeared with lightning speed. They met in the middle and began a wild frenzy of slashes, counters, feints, and the occasional melee combat fits. Both their speeds were unreal, and Koshino was now standing and watching in absolute amazement. She had no idea two people could move that fast and emit so much spiritual pressure at one time. Any more and it threatened to force her to her knees. She watched as they appeared, battled for a few seconds, disappeared, then repeated then process.

Matt was amazed that someone so lazy could put up such a fight. He deflected another attempted thrust, then countered with a slash of his own, which was promptly blocked by both of Acedia's tonfa-blades. He seemed utterly unconcerned and apathetic towards everything and everyone that surrounded him, including Matt. He was only fighting because his existence was threatened.

Matt was having trouble keeping up with him even in Shikai, but his longer weapon coupled with it's heavier weight gave it more strength and momentum, effectively keeping him at a good distance. Especially since the claymore was designed well for stabbing, which his tonfa's were not designed to block. He seemed to be a specialist in close quarters combat, which gave Matt the edge if he could stay far enough away to avoid those arm mounted blades, but close enough to still strike him when an opening presented itself.

Speaking of which, Acedia's tonfa's were currently busy blocking a high slash from his claymore, so Matt used this opening to deliver a kick to his upper chest, forcing him off balance. Matt made another swing, making a shallow but long incision in his upper left shoulder. He still showed no signs of pain.

Matt jumped high to try and finish him, but he recovered quicker than he had predicted and jumped straight at him. Matt lowered his blade just in time to block his left tonfa, but his right one slivered itself into Matt's side for a moment before slicing its way free, splattering a squirt of blood out of the wound.

Acedia hadn't escaped uninjured however. Matt blocking his left tonfa had burned his left hand as well, burning away his skin around and on top of knuckles and actually melting a bit of the bone. It would make adjusting his blade much harder, his hands were what he relied on to attack and block attacks by alternating the angle and position of the blades.

Matt grunted as the wind whipped at his open wound, stinging his body. He'd had much worse before, but it was still an uncomfortable and distracting injury.

"Your not bad, lazy bones!" he complimented. He wasn'ts sure why, but he always felt happiest when fighting a strong opponent. Grimmjow had rubbed off on him more than he thought.

"Hm," he grunted.

Without a second though, Matt went on the offensive again. He immediately made an attempt to stab Acedia, which proved to be a reckless and stupid move on his part. The man was easily able to dodge the attack and feinted behind him, leaving him completely open to the fury of the tonfa blades. Sure enough, he felt the cold steel slice down his back, causing all the muscles they touched to suddenly turn lax and limp. He lost control of his shoulder joint and his arm went limp, causing him to drop Gabriel.

"Wha...What did you do?" asked Matt.

"I've got fancy powers to ya know." said Acedia.

"It's pretty useful, any body part my tonfa blades cut become immobilized, completely useless for a good few hours. If I were to even glance a vital organ such as a lung or the liver though, they'd shut down for good and my opponent would immediately die or suffocate. It takes too much strategy and work for my liking, but it has its moments," he said in his normal apathetic tone.

"Your right arm is completely useless for the time being, plenty of time for me to finish you," he said, raising his right tonfa, reading himself to stab him most likely in the heart.

Just then they both heard a loud cry and looked up. Koshino was high in the air with her zanpakuto drawn, coming down on Acedia, ready to strike. He easily sidestepped the slash and planted his foot on her blade, preventing her from raising it again. He quickly slashed her right and left arms, causing them instantly to go limp. A hard kick to the chest later, she was laying in a mass of splintered wood after crashing through a wall.

He turned back to Matt and slashed his left leg. "Just so you can't get in my way, you've been enough trouble. I'll be back in a sec, I'm just gonna go handle the small fry."

He walked casually over to Koshino, who was staggering upright even without the help of her arms. He raised his tonfa again, preparing to strike her down. Matt, despite the affects of Acedia's tonfa, was able to dash forward fast enough to dive forward and push Koshino out of the blades path just in time.

No plan is perfect though, and Matt's had a particularly large drawback. That drawback was a tonfa blade through his chest. He felt blood rush up his throat and flow out his mouth, as well as all his limbs going dull and numb, not responding to his commands. Acedia took his foot and pushed Matt off his blade with it, letting him fall to the floor with a _thud_.

Just as he was about to step forward again, he felt a sharp pain in his side and looked down. A large katana spear hybrid had pierced through his right thigh.

"Get the fuck away from him you bloody wanker!" shouted a man with a British accent.

Matt was able to twitch his neck just enough to see Nathan arrive just in time. The brit yanked his naginata out of Acedia's thigh, causing him excruciating pain and flipping him onto his stomach. As he was trying to get back up, another figure landed on his back and began continuously smashing his head into the ground with their foot.

"This'll teach ya to attack my best friend!" the person shouted, still kicking Acedia in the back of the head.

When they were satisfied he was incapacitated, the unknown person stepped into the light. Matt would recognize that blond hair and lightly tanned skin anywhere.

"Bout time...Holly," he grunted.

"Don't blame me, Nathan's a slowpoke. Now come on, let's get you out of here and patched up," she said, picking him up and supporting his weight by taking his arm and pulling it over her shoulder.

"Nathan, get Koshino. she's injured to," grunted Matt.

"Don't worry about a thing mate, I'll get her. Toshiro's on his way with a team to apprehend this bastard he-... where the bloody hell'd he go!" he shouted.

Acedia had crawled slowly away and suddenly receded into darkness as Nathan went to capture him again. Matt watched and recognized it as the same way the man who had told him this would happen in the first place had disappeared. He would just keep that to himself for the moment, but it could be useful later on.

For the moment he was just happy Holly and Nathan had shown up when they did, else both he and Koshino would have been screwed. He was impressed, Holly had only discovered she had acutal spiritual powers a few months ago, and she was already making some good progress.

Her powers seemed to be primarily precognitive in nature; she could actually see clearly three seconds or so into the future, giving her an edge in combat. She knew what her opponent would do before he did it. Not only that, but her strength and speed had also been given a power boost; nothing on Matt's level, but she was definitely faster than a lot of the greener Soul Reapers.

She made pretty good use of it, smashing Acedia's head into the ground like that must have felt like being hit with a sledgehammer over and over again.

Nathan walked up to the two of them with Koshino in his arms, she looked unconscious.

"Come on now, get you to the fourth division before you bleed to death," he joked dryly.

Matt and Holly nodded, and they made their way slowly to the infirmary.

* * *

Once finally at the fourth division barracks, Matt and Koshino had hastily been given beds and were healed quickly. Koshino stayed unconscious for the duration of her treatment, but Matt had actually _helped _apply his own bandages, much to the nurses protests. After he was patched up, he layed down to rest and let his wounds heal. Nathan and Toshiro showed up to fill him in on what would be done now.

"So basically, we'll be forming a team to track this guy down and anyone who may be working with him," explained Toshiro.

"I've already been selected for it, as have you, and I'm sure Holly would be useful as well," said Nathan.

He nodded tiredly. "Got it, I'll see you guys later, right now I'm exhausted."

"Right, we'll be seeing you later mate," he Nathan.

He smiled as they left, then turn onto his side and fell asleep.

* * *

Back in the Rukongai, a lone cloaked figure stood atop one of the taller buildings overlooking the rest of the district. He smiled to himself in victory. Sure Matt had failed to eliminate Acedia, but he had still managed to gather some valuable information on his little puppet. The only reason he was defeated was because he underestimated the lazy warrior, many had made the same mistake.

Another also managed to pick up on some other nice pieces of information. He seemed to have a little rabble of friends that generally seemed to help him in battle. He had easily been able to determine who was weakest, a brown haired girl who Acedia ahd very nearly killed. If he were to...apprehend the girl, it might just give Matt the extra nudge he needed to give him.

Over the next few days he'd have to move carefully and cover his tracks. The others could get suspicious of him, and he couldn't afford to be found out yet.

Regardless, if he played his cards right, things would fall into place and he would emerge victorious. He just had to keep the others, not to mention Matt, off his trail. If either faction found out what he was doing, he would surely be killed, and that just wouldn't do.

With that done, he faded into the shadow's and returned from whence he came.

* * *

**Alright, there you guys have it, chapter 4. I hope it was more entertaining than the last chapter (that wasn't one of my prouder moments in my opinion.) In any case, I'll still have the next chapter ASAP, so look forward to it.**

**This chapter was much easier to write than the last one, it came so much faster and was more fluid I think. Anywho, I hope I made you all proud.**

**Review if you please.**


	5. Chapter 5: Team Roster

Guardian Angel II:

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 5

**Team Roster**

**Disclaimer: **I do not now, nor shall I ever own Bleach

Not much to actually say right now, not much has really happened. I'll just thank Human. Vizard and HitsugayaToshiro96 for the reviews. Now that that's done, I'll get out of your hair.

* * *

Matt woke up quite peacefully the next morning, apparently those tonfa's also made him sleep longer than normal because he'd probably been asleep for over twelve hours. The good news was most of his wounds were already healed and he could move around with little to no pain.

He chose not to wear his Soul Reaper robes, seeing as they were ripped and bloody. Instead he put on some standard hospital pants, they were white and a bit on the baggy side, but they fit him fine. His bandages still covered the majority of his torso, so he didn't see the point in even trying to get a shirt on, it hurt enough just getting on the pants

Since he was now mobile and the doctors and nurses finally left him alone, he decided he might as well check up on Koshino.

He'd been lucky, the doctors said that if the tonfa had been a centimeter higher, it would've pierced his heart, and two centimeter to the left and it would've nicked his spinal cord. As it was, it pierced just below all the vital organs in his upper chest; it was a one in a million miss on Acedia's part, but one that he welcomed.

He was glad he got there in time though; he definitely wouldn't have missed like that if he'd been able to attack Koshino. As it was, he was proud of himself that he was able to push her out of the way. He still refused to believe that anything of the romantic nature was going on, but he still cared enough about her to jump in and save her if need be. Though he couldn't help but think back to something Ichigo had told him during his training.

"_People say that love is an indefinable thing, but in my opinion, love is what drives people to go that extra mile for someone, to jump in and help them no matter the situation, even if it means losing their own life. That's what I think anyway."_

Matt couldn't exactly deny that logic, after all, what Ichigo had done in his Soul Reaper career completely eclipsed what Matt had done in the last year at least fifty times over. After all that, Ichigo was bound to be much wiser than he was.

If that philosophy was true, and Matt didn't doubt that it was, then he of course loved all his friend. He knew without a doubt in his mind that if Holly or Nathan or even Frosty were in trouble, he'd jump into the fray with them and worry about the consequences later.

Koshino though; sure he'd help her to, no problem with that, but what he felt when Acedia was about to impale her felt different that when, say, Holly was attacked by Hollows the day he got back to Seattle. Sure he was worried for her safety, but it didn't even come close to driving him over the edge. But when he saw Koshino limping upward and that black haired lazy ass fighter about to kill her; for a split second he completely snapped. He wasn't even sure how in high heavens he was able to move his other leg; it was supposed to be paralyzed.

In any case, he had just pushed open the doors to the wing of the infirmary that Koshino was being held. The room looked pretty much the same as the edge he had been in; most of the beds empty, same old wooden walls and floor, and all but completely quiet. Matt spotted her laying bored in one of the beds to his left.

"Sleep well?" he asked her as he took a seat on the bed next to her.

"Alright, I guess," she half mumbled.

Matt sighed and crossed his arms. "Alright, what's eating you?"

She remained silent.

"Look, if you're upset over me getting stabbed while saving you, it's not that big a deal for me, I've gotten stabbed in the chest before ya know."

"But you could have died!" she shouted back.

He shrugged. "I could've died a lot of times, it's nothing new."

He sighed. "Look, I get what you're saying. You feel guilty because I got hurt saving you, it's understandable, but don't let it bother you. I'm not upset over it so you shouldn't be either."

She nodded, but still with a sullen look on her face.

"Anyway, we're putting together a team to track that weirdo down. So far it's just me, Nathan, and Toshiro, but we'll be expecting more from what they told me. I just thought I'd let you know that I'll be recommending you to join us."

Her expression instantly changed to one of surprise.

"What?"

"Yeah, you may be a little inexperienced, but we can fix that. What's more important is that you didn't show any fear jumping in to help me out, so I figure if you got a little stronger, you'd be pretty valuable," he explained.

"How will I _get_ stronger though?"

"That's my job. I'll just use the same training regiment that Ichigo used on me, and you'll be in top form in no time!"

"Someone say my name?" said a voice from the doorway.

Matt turned around to see the bright orange hair and oversized sword of his friend and teacher. He walked up to Matt and ruffled his hair, something he was sort of accustomed to when it came to the elder Soul Reaper. Something new he noticed though, was the patch of red hair sprouting from his chin.

"So, what's this here?" he said, grabbing hold of the small beard.

"Eh, just something I thought I'd try. Anyway, who's this?"

"Oh, right. Ichigo, this here is Koshino Nagasawa, she's on my patrol team in Seattle and as you probably heard, we got into a bit of a scuffle in the Rukongai."

He nodded. "Yeah, I heard. You're getting lazy, getting your ass beaten like that."

"Yeah, yeah, so what're _you_ doing here?" he asked.

"What do you think, I'm joining your little investigation team to catch that guy who attacked the Rukongai. I brought a few friends along with me I think would be some help, and don't worry, I brought along Grimmjow so you have someone to annoy."

"Sweet," said Matt, grinning mischievously.

"So between your friends and my friends, what're our numbers?" asked Matt.

"Well, I brought along Chad, Uryu, and Grimmjow. You've got Toshiro, Nathan, Holly and yourself, so that puts us at eight members."

"And I'm bringing along Koshino here to, so that makes nine."

He nodded. "Alright, so that means we can split into three man groups if necessary."

"Yeah. There is one more thing I wanted to ask you."

"It is?"

"Holly's powers seem to be precognitive, which gives her an edge in fights, the only problem is she really isn't much of a fighter. I was wondering if there was someone you knew who could help her out with martial arts or something."

Ichigo stroked his chin in thought; Matt still couldn't get over that beard. Then he suddenly snapped his fingers.

"Ah! I know just the person, and she just happens to live right here in the Soul Society!"

* * *

Miles outside the Seireitei, Yoruichi suddenly sneezed while eating her lunch. She was currently staying as Shukaku's place. She put down her bowl and sighed, she knew well enough that when she sneezed, someone was talking about her. And that usually meant someone was going to ask her a favor in the near future.

She just hoped it wasn't anything to do with the incident in the Rukongai she heard about.

* * *

"So this Yoruichi woman can help out Holly over the next few days while we get everything settled, huh?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yup, if anyone can teach that girl how to fight, it's her. Just as a fair warning though, we may be creating a monster by sending her there. Yoruichi isn't known for her subtlety or her patience."

Matt shrugged. "Neither is Holly, so it's a perfect match."

Matt turned to Koshino. "So, how are your arms?"

"The doctors said the wounds had already closed, I can leave any time I wish."

"Great, we've got a lot of training to do and not a lot of time to do it in! Now come on, the sooner we start, the sooner you get your Shikai!"

Ichigo watched as Matt dragged the poor girl out of bed and soon, out of the room entirely. He also found himself wondering just what kind of monster he had unleashed on the Soul Society.

* * *

Meanwhile, Matt continued to drag Koshino around the Soul Society, trying to find a good spot to begin the training. There didn't seem to be anyplace they he could do it without causing any collateral damage, which wouldn't roll over well with the captains. He decided once again, that the only place that he had the full range to do what needed to be done was the former execution grounds, it was the only place within the Seireitei that was barren enough to be safe for the training regiment that he had in mind.

They quickly jumped up the stairs the led to said grounds, and Matt wasted no time in getting started.

"Alright, first thing I want to do is fight you myself for a bit, just to get a feel for your capabilities."

She looked absolutely petrified at the prospect of fighting him, even in a training match.

He laughed. "Don't worry, I won't be using shikai or anything, all I want to do is know what I'm working with. I need to know how far along you are before we start up the actual exercises."

Nervously, she nodded. Matt didn't feel the need to draw Gabriel, even though Koshino had drawn hers. She was still new at this, so she probably didn't have enough reiatsu in her zanpakuto to deal any significant damage, even if she did score a hit.

"Alright, now attack me like you were going to kill me, don't hold back!" he ordered.

She hesitantly took a step forward, then broke into a run, her zanpakuto ready. Her form wasn't all that bad, but she was slow compared to other people he'd fought. One thing that he couldn't ignore however was when she swung her blade. Even if she had attacked him at full force, it wouldn't have been more than a paper-cut to him. As she attacked though, she slowed the swing down, softening the blow.

Either way, he easily caught the blade in mid-swing, then forced the hilt down on her, bonking her on the head. She fell onto her back, her zanpakuto now in the ground blade down.

"Honestly, how did you expect to hurt me with that kind of swing?" he asked, not sarcastically, but critically.

"I…I just can't do it, I can't attack you. Why would I want to kill you?"

"Look, as impossible and improbable as it seems, there might come a day where you might have to fight me for real. Hell, there could be someone out there who looks a lot like me, what'll you do then?"

"I…don't know."

Matt sighed. "I'll tell you what you're gonna do, you're gonna stay here and you're gonna keep attacking me until you get it right, and then you're gonna do it right again and score a hit!"

She didn't say anything –out of fear or just compliance Matt didn't know- and stood up again, retrieving her zanpakuto.

She got it right after a few more tries, and then set out on trying to actually score a hit, which proved an even more elusive task. Over the next four hours she tried and tried again but couldn't manage to get past his defense. He didn't even need his zanpakuto to block her, he just deflected the attacks with his hands and wrists.

He had to admit though, she was improving. At least he'd gotten her past holding back; a small step, but important none the less. As the session finally ended, Koshino was on her back, sweating a river. Her zanpakuto was cracked and dulled from constant attacks.

Matt walked over to her and picked up her blade, sticking it next to Gabriel on his belt. Once that was squared away, he picked her up, lifting her under her knees and arms.

"Thanks," she groaned, to tired to speak in any well structured sentences.

"Not a problem. I gotta admit, you didn't do half bad today. There was some definite improvement," he complimented.

She didn't respond, obviously too tired, and instead shifted a bit, to lean on her side. Matt walked the entire way back to the thirteenth division barracks with her head and arms snuggled against his chest, and a completely beet red face.

* * *

**Okay, chapter 5 is finished. Kinda boring, I know, but we'll be getting to the good stuff in a few chapters, don't worry. Right now is just sort of an introduction to all the awesomeness to come. Sit tight my friends, and until next chapter. (tomorrow most likely.)**

**Review and junk.**


	6. Chapter 6: Kontan Denka

Guardian Angel II:

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 6

**Unleash your Hidden Power: Kontan Denka**

**Disclaimer:** Bleach, mine it is not.

OH JOY! Good news everyone; America is on the verge of being financially ass raped at the moment, which means yours truly isn't getting that fucking 360 unless God himself comes down from heaven and starts throwing gold encrusted diamonds in my face! That's not very likely though, seeing as how I've degraded and insulted an arc angel in this saga quite a few times. I'm gonna get so much heat for this when I finally die, but at least it was all in good fun.

Anyway, enough of my whining, we're hitting a milestone in this chapter. A memory that you'll look back at with fondness; a story you will someday tell your children, and they'll pass it down to their children and so forth. Koshino will be gaining her Shikai in this chapter, so I hope this makes up for the horrid piece of crap that was chapter 5. That was not one of my proud moments. Also, there's some more of that romantic stuff near the end that I'm trying to get better at. I think I'm making some good progress in that respect.

You guys go ahead and read, I'm gonna go practice being poor. SPARE CHANGE? SPARE CHANGE?

* * *

Another two days had passed and Matt was up and about early in the morning. Koshino had been training under him everyday all day, and she was making good progress, but no where near fast enough. He wished he wouldn't have had to resort to this, but because of the time constraint and their dire need for a formidable team, he had to push her farther than he himself would have liked. Normally Rukia would've filled in the space of their nine man fellowship, but she had other duties to attend to, and Koshino could honestly use the experience.

She may not have had the natural talent that he had, but Koshino had the drive to become a great Soul Reaper, and that was why he'd taken an interest in her…well for the most part anyway. As much as he despised to do this, he had to use the same method that Ichigo had used on him; he had to scare her so much that she pulled out her Shikai out of fear for her life.

He wouldn't dream of actually killing her, not in a thousand years, but he had to make her think he would, which wouldn't be too hard. She was promising, but she was scared way too easily, all he had to do was play into that. He still wasn't a fan of this idea, mostly because it involved seriously injuring her, something he wasn't really comfortable with. He'd just have to suck it up though; if she had the right stuff, she'd be able to handle it; she _needed_ to be able to handle it.

Their training session didn't start for another hour or so, so he spent his time in their usual spot -the former execution grounds- and practiced his zanjustu. He hadn't been able to do so in the past few days, what with getting Koshino ready and catching up with Ichigo. As far as he knew, his friends Chad and Uryu were already in Seattle, staying at a hotel and keeping an eye out in case something happened before they got their team ready. Holly went with Ichigo earlier in the morning to Yoruichi, who would be helping her with martial arts training. He didn't even want to think about where Grimmjow was.

Once the two had had a decent amount of training, they'd be ready to go. It probably wouldn't take more than a few more days, Holly was always a quick learner, and Koshino probably wouldn't need anything past Shikai if she could get used to its powers. Of course this led back to the original problem, and that was actually unlocking her Shikai.

He had no doubt he could actually do it, he just didn't like the idea of intentionally scaring her, literally, half to death. Even though she was a decent enough fighter, she was pretty delicate when it came to emotions and such. As much as he hated to admit it though, that was another reason she needed this method; he had to break her from her fears. She really was too soft for her own good, she didn't have the instinct or the drive to kill, which was a big problem. To counter this, he really had to lay on the insults and make it seem like he was being cruel. He didn't like it, but it was better for her in the long run; she needed to toughen up.

Usually his zanjutsu training was something that cleared his mind, but there was too much to think about as of late. Still, it didn't stop him from slaying his imaginary enemies. He always imagined he was surrounded by Hollows, which helped him because it allowed him to practice defending from multiple angles, even if he wasn't facing his opponent.

He was so absorbed in his imaginary battle of life and death that he didn't notice Koshino already there, watching him elegantly kill every 'enemy' that opposed him. Ever since she first saw him fight she had always been infatuated with his blade work; he made it seem more like a dance than a fighting style. All his moves were flawlessly strung together, cutting the air around him to ribbons, whistling in the silent late morning air.

The little of it she saw when they first met six months ago -when she was still in the academy- she tried to imitate. Now that she got to see it in more detail though, she'd been trying her hardest to not only memorize his movements, but to be able to actually do them. Something easier said than done, his reflexes were on a completely different level, not to mention he could swing harder than she could.

From what she'd seen, he was also familiar with kido spells, and he had a good knowledge of hand-to-hand combat. He seemed to be able to excel at everything, he was easily one of the strongest Soul Reapers in the Soul Society. Two days ago when he said he would train her she felt so honored; he even said she'd make a great Soul Reaper. He seemed to have so much faith in her, and she wouldn't let that faith be misplaced, she'd be the best she could...for him.

She noticed he was finally done and he stood there panting. He slipped off the top of his Soul Reaper robes, letting it hang at his sides, revealing his well toned chest. The Soul Reaper lifestyle did wonders for his body. Before he started fighting Hollows and the like, he was pretty weak. Now though, he could probably plow his way through his schools football team without breaking a sweat. Koshino shook her head, as she'd been staring and gotten a bit dreamy eyed.

She walked up to him with an eager smile on her face, she couldn't wait to get started. She sensed something was different though, when Matt turned around to see her. He looked the same, yet like a completely different person at the same time; his eyes were no longer calm like the ocean, but cold like ice and he wasn't smiling like he usually was.

Before she had time to ask him what was going on, he was already in front of her, his zanpakuto's blade pressed against her neck.

"M-matt, what-"

"Shut up and draw your zanpakuto," he said with a voice full of anger.

"I don't understa-"

"Do you want me to slice you open right now!?"

She slowly shook her head, still having a sword against her throat.

"Then draw it."

She complied, her hand shaking as she clutched her zanpakuto, the rattling of the blade inside its hilt could be heard clearly.

"Scared already? Pathetic."

Matt had to admit, he played the part of a bad guy pretty well. Maybe a little too well, he was actually starting to scare himself a little.

He jumped back, watching Koshino nervously draw her zanpakuto. As much as he'd probably hate himself later for this, he got a bit of a kick out of being the bad guy for a change, though he still didn't feel good about scaring Koshino. The poor girl already looked like she was going to pass out, he was already starting to feel bad.

Still, that didn't stop him from jumping forward at her, Gabriel poised to strike. She raised her blade to block and their swords collided, shooting sparks in every direction. He used shunpo and appeared behind her. He brought his bladed down on her, careful not to seriously injure her, but still inflict a wound that would cause pain and draw blood. He had to be careful to not let her know he wasn't actually trying to cause her any severe harm.

After successfully injuring her, he flipped over her and faced her again. He was quick to charge again, heading straight at her. She made an attempt to slash at him, an attack he easily dodged by sliding under it and even slid between her legs, grabbing her ankles and tripping her. He quickly stood up and walked over to her, she was down on her stomach. He stepped onto her, careful not to step on her injury too much, and bent down to speak to her.

"What, are you going to just lay there and let me kill you? Are you that much a loser?"

She didn't respond, but grunted and tried in vain to get up, unable to lift him.

"Oh come on, I honestly thought you might make a decent Soul Reaper, but I guess you're just another face in the crowd. I'm a worse judge of character than I thought," he taunted.

He jumped off her and walked away for a bit, waiting for her to get up. She may have been meek and shy, but she wasn't about to let him stab at her pride like that, she was just determined like that. Just as Matt predicted, she stood up using her zanpakuto for support. If he wasn't still trying to be the bad guy, he probably would have smiled. At least he could enjoy the internal swell of pride.

"Want more huh? Fine, just try not to bore me too much."

He charged her aggressively again, slashing madly in every direction, trying to be as unpredictable as possible. He had to hand it to her, she blocked a good amount of the attacks, but he was still able to slice up her arms and shoulders pretty badly. He really hoped she was able to summon it soon, the look on her face as he attacked her was practically heartbreaking. She looked as though she'd lost the most important person in the world to her and it really dug at him, that he was responsible for making her feel this way. That was when he was sure he would never be able to be evil like that, he couldn't bare to have faces like that in his memories.

He sucked up his emotions for the moment and resumed his attacks, leaping over her blade and kicking her in the face. He tried not to put too much force behind it, just enough to knock her on her butt; hopefully she wouldn't notice.

Just as he hoped, she had fallen onto her back and nothing more. She rolled backwards and stood again, bleeding a bit from the nose, but nothing serious. To his surprise, she attacked him for a change, sending a series of rapid stabs his way. He was impressed, she was aiming for the head; maybe he had ebbed away some of that fear. Needless to say, he dodged them without much effort but he was still proud of her, she had actually attacked him. She'd never done that before.

With one swift motion, he brought up Gabriel during another one of her thrusts and lopped off the tip of her blade like a hot knife through butter. He was lucky to, because he had neglected to move his head out of the way of that one, it would have caught him dead center in the forehead he he hadn't cut off the tip. Two more slices and two more chunks of her blade dropped to the ground.

Her zanpakuto was now down to half its total length, but to even more of Matts shock, Koshino didn't stop attacking. Even with half her sword gone she was still swinging, not with any defined form or strategy, but she still had the strength to fight back, which was what was important.

He twisted under another slash and slammed his leg into her stomach, causing her to cough up blood and tumble back. She, again, recovered quickly and pushed herself up again. Matt seriously had to fight to not smile, she was just so damn determined, and that was what set her apart from all her fellow Soul Reapers. What she wasn't good at, she was devoted to work at until she _was_ good at it. Matt always wondered what could possibly motivate her so much.

Matt was thinking too much and almost got caught in the arm by her severed blade, which he was able to barely dodge. He swung Gabriel and cut apart her blade further, reducing it to that of a stump of a sword along with the guard and hilt. With that, he struck her in the forehead with the pommel of his hilt and forced her back again.

(A/N: just in case any of you were wondering, the pommel is that little round thing at the bottom of most claymores hilts, or swords similar to the claymore. Japanese swords don't have these, at lest none that I've seen.)

She shook her head to clear the daze, she was bleeding from her forehead now as the pommel had broken the skin. He was attacking her again before she could dodge and sliced her guard in half, leaving only her hilt left to hold.

"Looks like you're screwed. It was a nice try, but I guess you just didn't have what it took. Oh well, time to die."

This was it, either she dug deep and pulled out her Shikai in a life or death moment, or she was left defenseless and he would have to pull the attack. It all came down to this, one last shot, he had to just believe that she'd be able to pull this off. He came in closer and closer, and he thrust his blade forward, aimed straight for her head.

Koshino closed her eyes, hoping it wouldn't hurt too much when she suddenly felt someone else there with her. She opened her eyes and saw that everything around her had stopped. Matt was stiff as a board and was unmoving, as was the wind, the sky, everything.

It was confusing but it gave her a second to try and figure out what was going on. Why was Matt doing this? What had possessed him to just suddenly attack her like he did? She felt like crying. Ever since she entered the academy she had been alone as a Soul Reaper. Her parents never approved of her lifestyle, she didn't have any friends in her graduating class, and no one in the barracks would even look her way.

Matt had been the only person to believe she had what it took to make it. She had felt like she wasn't alone anymore when she was with him; she finally had someone that was trying to help her, someone who took an interest in her. For the week that she'd gotten to know him, she felt important, and now it looked like he had suddenly just turned against her for no reason. She was literally heartbroken.

**"Boy, he's cute. No wonder you've got such a crush on him," said a voice.**

Koshino looked around, but couldn't find the source of the voice. "Hello? who's there?"

Suddenly someone appeared in front of her out of thin air. It was a girl, around her age actually, with blue hair of all colors that stretched down to her waist. She stood in front of her with a wide smile; she had a short skirt on and a long tank top.

"Who...are you?" she asked.

Not seeming to even be listening to her, she kept on talking. **"He's not actually trying to kill you ya know, in fact quite the opposite, he's trying to keep you alive,"** she explained.

"How is trying to do that, he's been attacking me?" she demanded.

**"He knew the fastest way to unlock your Shikai would be to put you in a life or death situation, but instead of actually putting your life at risk, he decided to just fight you himself. That way he could avoid hurting you too seriously."**

"Then...then why was he insulting me? He was yelling at me like he hated me!"

She walked in circles around Matt, examining him. **"That was all part of the illusion silly; he wanted to make it convincing so you wouldn't know your life wasn't really in any danger, he didn't mean any of that nasty stuff."**

"R-really?"

**"Nope. In fact, he likes you a lot. I think he's got a bit of a crush on you to," **she said cheerfully again.

Koshino instantly started blushing. "Y-you...think so?"

**"Yup, but anyway, let's get to the reason you're here."**

"What_ is_ the reason I'm here?" she asked.

**"Well, I'm your zanpakuto spirit, so you've gotta say my name."**

"But I don't _know_ your name!"

She giggled like a little kid, **"Sure ya do, you've just gotta remember."**

Koshino sat there and thought. '_what could her name be? How do I remember?'_

She sat there for what seemed like hours, trying to figure out what her spirits name is. She looked at her, trying to see if her appearance would trigger something. She didn't see anything that was the least bit familiar to her. The only thing that seemed to come back to her was how full of energy she was.

Wait...energy. That was it, energy. That reminded her of what her name was.

**"You figured it out huh? Good for you then. Now, get back out there and show him what we can do!" **she said enthusiastically, pumping her fist into the air.

She smiled back and nodded. Then, time started up again; Matt was moving forward and was just about to pull the sword back when he felt Koshino's power suddenly spike. Before his sword could make any sort of contact, an electric blue energy shot out from around her and threw him back. He skidded against the ground and watched as Koshino was absorbed into the energies of her shikai transformation.

As the blue mass finally cleared, he could see Koshino clearly again. Her sword was gone, and was replaced by a golden gauntlet that encased her entire left arm. It was solid armor that went up to her elbow, the there were four twirling cords what wound upwards in a spiral motion until they all connected again to a shoulder guard.

"**Unleash your Hidden Power:** _Kontan Denka_!

She extended her hand, revealing an electric blue crystal in the center of her palm. He could feel a massive amount of reiatsu gathering around it, and he realized that everything around him was slowly disintegrating. The ground, the trees, even the surrounding buildings were all being broken down and absorbed into Koshino's gauntlet.

"Oh fuck on a stick," he groaned.

"_Denka Houshutsu!_" she cried.

An blue blast exploded from the gem, a blast that eclipsed any he could've produced with a kido spell without killing himself. It was a literal torrent of energy and it was visible even from the Rukongai, and directly in its path was Matt.

"HOLY SHI-!" he yelled before being engulfed by the blast.

If he had been in his shikai form, the blast might not have hurt him quite as much, but as it was, Koshino's attack had completely caught him by surprise and it put him through the ringer. When the burning energy finally subsided, he was on his back, his robes were tattered and ripped, and he was aching all over. His skin had tore open in some places and he was bleeding from multiple points, luckily none of them were too deep.

He groaned as he stood up again, he was gonna be so sore later. "Man, that one hurt."

He looked over at Koshino, she was on her hands and knees panting. The exertion her Shikai put on her must have been enormous to create such a strong attack. He walked over to her as fast as his aching state would allow. When he was finally standing over her, she looked up with uncertain eyes, not knowing what he was going to do next.

This time he let a smile finally creep onto his face and he gave her a thumbs up. "Nice, that's one hell of a Shikai Koshino," he complimented.

She smiled back and stood to. She dissipated her gauntlet and sighed, glad to finally have all this over with. Matt smiled again, and before he knew what hit him, Koshino had her arms around his neck. This in itself surprised him enough, but he definitely didn't expect her to kiss his cheek, and he damn near passed out on the spot. Koshino laid her head against Matts shoulder and smiled.

"Thank you Matt, for everything," she whispered, but her still heard her.

"Y-yeah, no problem."

He slowly returned the embrace, uncertain of what exactly to do. When he finally did though, Koshino's grip only tightened, and he suddenly felt warm inside. It wasn't like when he release his shikai, this one was even more inviting and soft, if that were possible, and he welcomed it completely.

"So you're not mad at me then?"

She smirked. "I don't know about _that_."

"So what can I do to remedy the situation?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well...you can get cleaned up and then buy me some lunch."

He laughed and nodded. "Deal."

With that the two separated, albeit hesitantly, and Matt supported Koshino down the execution grounds. Even though he had been hit with a pretty powerful attack, he was still in better shape than the female Soul Reaper. On their way down, Koshino laid her head on his shoulder again as they walked, and despite the aching discomfort he was feeling, Matt couldn't have been happier.

It'd been one hell of a good day so far.

* * *

**AHHHHH, Finally done! So fucking tired! Need sleep!**

**I think I'm getting better at this romantic crap, but what do I know right? If you think I'm improving, tell me, I'll know I'm on the right track. If not, the tell me what I need to improve on, again, I want to be on the right track.**

**Anyway, next chapter will be more exciting and have more story development! Hooray for story development!**

**Well, see you guys on the flip side!**


	7. Chapter 7: When you pull the pin

Guardian Angel II:

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 7

**"When you pull the pin…"**

**Disclaimer: **Why do I even put this thing here anymore?

Good to be back guys. Sorry about the longer than usual wait, with school and the fact that I've had my face in Brisingr for the last few days didn't help with the speed of this chapter. If you get a chance though, buy Brisingr, it is A-MAZE-ING! There are so many things I want to spoil for you guys, but I won't because I'm a cool guy like that.

In other news, we're done with all that boring preparation and such, and this is the chapter where the story will start falling into place a bit. I'm not gonna say too much, but just know that something is going to happen here that will force Matt to go completely rogue and break off from the Soul Society. Trouble is on the horizon for our favorite deputy Soul Reaper.

I've also noticed that some of my reviewers are suddenly disappearing. I don't know about your lives or anything, you guys might just be busy, but I thrive on feedback, so when I don't get any, I start to freak out! Just a fair warning, I feel lonely.

* * *

"Ah, so good to be back!" exclaimed Matt happily.

Matt leaped out of the senkaimon and onto the nearest building, overjoyed to finally be back home. The group had spent another three day in the soul society, Koshino and Holly had gotten crash courses in their training, but hopefully it would do. Holly already seemed stronger, as she was now able to outrun even Matt unless he went into his released form. Koshino had gotten better with her Shikai, and it didn't drain her nearly as much as it did when she first used it.

For now, it was just him, Holly, Koshino, Ichigo, Nathan, Toshiro, and Grimmjow. Ichigo's two friends would be along to join them; then they'd split up and search for anything suspicious. The rest of the group joined him at the edge of the building.

"Wow, this place is definitely bigger than Karakura," commented Ichigo.

"Yeah it is, twice the Hollow's to. That's why there are more Soul Reapers here than in most cities," said Matt.

Toshiro looked around the city with his usual lazy gaze. "How do you not get lost in this place?"

"It's no more complicated that the Seireitei; trust me, it gets easier as time passes."

"Ichigo!" yelled a voice.

They all looked to a neighboring building to see the source of the new voice. There stood two figures, one in all white clothing with blue strips, rectangular glasses, and long black hair like Matts tied back in a ponytail. Next to him was a giant of a guy with tanned skin, messy brown hair, and a blue sleeveless shirt and jeans. He was easily taller than Ichigo.

"Uryu, Chad, how'd you find us so fast!?"

They both jumped over to the building the rest of the group was gathered on.

"It was just chance," said the taller man quietly.

Ichigo nodded. "Well anyway, since you're here we should divide up into teams and get on with this."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. "Right, well we'll split into three groups, each will have a team leader. We'll head into different directions and search the city. We'll meet back at Matt's house as our rally point."

He cleared his throat and stood in front of them all. "The first team will consist of me, Chad, and Uryu; I'll be team leader. Second team will be Toshiro, Holly, and Nathan; Toshiro, you're team leader. Finally, third team will be Matt, Koshino, and Grimmjow; Matt's team leader."

"What!?" yelled Grimmjow.

"You can't be serious Kurosaki! No way am I taking orders from that jackass!"

"I'm standing right here ya blue haired bastard!" retorted Matt.

"Like it or not Grimmjow, Matt's the highest ranking person in your group, so it only makes sense. Besides, you're more likely to get the three of you killed than he is," defended Ichigo.

He crossed his arms angrily and spit off the side of the building, keeping a frustrated scowl on his face. With that, the group split into their teams, and their team leaders led them through the city. Matt had not trouble navigating through the maze of skyscrapers; between living here for all his life and a year after death, he was familiar with most parts of the city. They all had their spiritual senses on high alert, sensing for anything with the slightest hint of reiatsu that came within a mile of them.

So far all they sensed was the rest of the group and a few pluses. Other than that, it was a spiritual wasteland. If there was someone or something that was spiritually aware or spiritual in itself, it was very skilled in hiding itself from other spiritually aware beings. Between the three of them though, they should be able to pick up anything the others missed, just another advantage of traveling in groups.

They spent the next two hours wandering from building to building, scanning what seemed like the entire city. There wasn't a trace of anything remotely out of order, and that was what troubled Matt the most. Things were never this peaceful; he should have been alerted about a Hollow at least once by now, if not by his senses then by his badge. Neither of which were sensing anything of the sort now.

Something should have been somewhere, but nothing was what they were finding. Matt couldn't help but think they were walking into some sort of ambush. He couldn't fathom how someone would pull it off, or why, but his gut had never lied to him before.

He landed on the next building and put up his fist, signaling the rest to stop. Grimmjow and Koshino both stopped and stepped up beside him.

"What is it Matt? Do you sense something?" asked Koshino.

"Yes and no. Have you guys noticed how...quiet it's been?"

Grimmjow spit at the ground again. "Yeah, why is that a problem?"

"Seattle is never this peaceful when it comes to Hollows, I should have had at least three warnings by now, but not one has shown up. It's weird."

"You're thinking too much, now let's get moving again damn it."

He reluctantly nodded. Just as they were about to move out though, he felt a faint spiritual pressure that was foreign to the rest of the group.

"Hold on, now I sense something!"

"Make up your mind!" yelled Grimmjow.

"Just hold on a sec, give me a second to think!" he yelled back.

He closed his eyes and focused on the pressure; he couldn't help but feel like it was familiar somehow. He had felt it somewhere before, he knew it...but where?

* * *

A few blocks away on a skyscraper on which he could see the outlines of his prey, the man smirked. It was time to make his next move in this game of chess, and what was chess but a game of deception? He planned a little deception of his own, and at the core of it, was Matt and that girl. If all went well, and he was confident that it would, two of his adversaries would be out of his way within the next day or two.

"Well, he's already stopped and taken the bait, why keep him waiting any longer?" he mused to himself.

With that, he moved his hand out of the cloak that enveloped him and held it extended. With a quick surge of reiatsu and a snap of the fingers, his plan was sent into motion. Now all he had to do was sit back, wait for his minions to do their jobs, and then act his part in this play of villains and fools.

* * *

Before Matt could ascertain his answer, the pressure spiked and he suddenly felt a dozen new pressures around him and his team. His eyes shot open to see exactly a dozen new figure claw their way from what seemed like straight out of the floor. They finally stood, surrounding the three of them on all sides. They were in the shape of humans, though only vaguely; they had skeletal masks on and gaping holes in their chests like Hollows, and their equally armored bodies made them appear Vasto Lordes class. The only difference was that they were completely black instead of bleach white, and their eyes were a deep purple instead of the usual bright yellow.

They all wielded scythes with an angular and cruel arua to them; they to were black. They didn't speak, but let out a low hiss like a snake. They slowly circled around the group, keeping up their symphony of hisses. Matt fingered Gabriels hilt, and saw Grimmjow and Koshino do the same for their blades.

"On three, take out the one in front of you then dash in different directions, if we split them up they'll be easier to deal with," whispered Matt.

They both nodded and Matt began his countdown.

"One..."

"Two..."

He inhaled deeply. "Three!"

The three jumped straight forward in different directions. Grimmjow rammed his blade into the first Hollow-like creature he found and ripped it out of its side, nearly cutting it in half. Matt quickly sliced his claymore straight through the monsters neck, easily beheading it. Koshino sliced her zanpakuto upward, delivering two quick swipes to the beasts torso, then kicked it in the chest and sent it plummeting over the edge of the skyscraper.

With three enemies down, they all bolted off in different directions, three of their adversaries following them each. Matt jumped onto and over multiple buildings, occasionally using shunpo to gain some distance. He leaped off the latest building and turned in midair to face his attackers. He took a deep breath and felt the flames rushing up his throat. As it seemed like the lead two were going to overtake him, a jet of flames erupted from his mouth and roasted away the two easily.

He flipped back around just in time to land on the roof with his feet, albeit clumsily. As he skidded to a stop, he watched as the last scythe wielding warrior land across from him. He wasted no time in letting him gain his balance and rushed him while he was still lifting his scythe. As he moved the weapon upward, Matt jumped and landed on the pole of the weapon, forcing the blade into the concrete floor and wedging it there. As he stood crouched on his opponents weapon, disarming him and leaving him open at the same time, he sliced open the air with his claymore, liberating the creatures head from its shoulders.

The blood squirted out like a fountain, spraying his robes and the side of his face. He wipped most of it away with his sleeve and smeered the rest. Once he was cleaned up, he sprinted off to find Koshino; Grimmjow could handle himself but Koshino was still a bit unstable when it came to her shikai. He could still feel her pressure, and it looked like she'd already activated it.

* * *

Koshino fired another blast from Kontan Denka at the mysterious attackers, blasting off one of its arms and destroying its weapon. She turned around and fired another two blasts, missing the first time, but nailing the same monster again in the face, finally killing it. In her victory though, she failed to noticed that there was now only one of her opponents behind her.

She continued to fire on the last attacker behind her, grazing it a few times, but never hitting it. As she turned her head back to her front, she saw as the missing third creature coming straight at her. She didn't have time to dodge and the blunt end of the scythe impacted the side of her head, knocking her onto a neighboring building. She slid on her back on the rough concrete before coming to a stop when she slammed into a heating unit.

As she tried to pick herself up, she felt a piercing pain in her left thigh and let out a cry. She looked through the tears that were forming in her eyes to see a scythe blade wedged into her leg. The pain spiked again when it yanked the blade out, freeing the blood in her leg further. The second one landed near her as well and slipped its ice cold fingers around her neck, lifting her off the ground.

The grip was iron and it was cutting into her skin, causing cuts to ooze blood from back of her neck. She gasped for breath as the grip only tightened and she couldn't help but let the tears in her eyes roll down her face. They were from both fear and pain, as her thigh was litterally ripped completely open because of the scythe.

That was when she felt a familiar spiritual pressure; it was Matt. She felt hope grow until she saw more of the monstrosities clawing their way out of oblivion and into the world. They numbered at least fifteen all wielding the same scythes as the others.

Suddenly one on the edge of the building erupted in a splatter of blood and fell to the ground. She saw another swing its weapon but soon fell as well in a similar manner. A stream of flames flew in the opposite direction, incinerating another three. The remaining forces moved to surround the new opponent except for the one who was holding Koshino. It walked away from the raging battle as it held her high, and opened a portal to a place unknown. Wherever it was it was completely black and she felt a cold chill up her spine as they stepped through.

"Matt!" she cried in desperation.

He suddenly broke through the lines of black Hollow-like monsters after slicing through another two. He was running full speed at the two of them, clenching his teeth as the portal started to close. Koshino saw this and tried her hardest to brake herself free, but the grip was too strong.

"Koshino!" he shouted as the portal finally closed, leaving the world she was just in behind.

With that, the creature threw her to the ground and disappeared, leaving her in the darkness alone with only her tattered robes to keep her warm in the chilling blackness.

* * *

Matt punched the ground furiously.

"Damn it!" he shouted angrily.

He was so busy smashing the ground that he didn't notice that Grimmjow had finally decided to show up. He came up from behind him and yanked him up, forcibly holding back his fists. Matt almost decked him in the face before he realized who it was.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded.

"They took her!" he shouted back.

"Who?"

"Koshino you fucking idiot!"

"Why would they do that!?"

Matt threw his hands up in the air. "How the fuck should I know! We've just gotta rescue her, come on!"

He grabbed Matt's arms again as he tried to jump away. "Hold your horses, we don't even know where she is! How the hell are we supposed to rescue her when we don't even know where she is!?"

"I don't know, but we have to do _something_!"

"I think I can help with that," said a new voice.

They both looked over at the other end of the building; there stood a cloaked figure with a hood that obscured his face. He stepped forward, his cloak waving in the wind of the high altitude of the skyscraper.

"Hey, I remember you!" said Matt.

"I'm flattered, though that's not really why I'm here."

"Then why are you here?" asked Grimmjow, giving the man a look of suspision.

"I saw what just occurred, and I can lend my assistance. I know where the girl will be taken to, and I can tell you exactly where it is."

"Really, where!?" asked Matt desperately.

"There's a cave under the harbor where you'll encounter a few spiritual barriers, nothing you can't handle; you friend will be there. Here, catch."

He tossed over a rolled up piece of paper which Matt intercepted easily. He unrolled it and absorbed the image inside; it was a topographical map of Seattle. There was a circle and an 'X' in the middle of Elliot Bay, indicating the cave was somewhere under its waters. It didn't look too far out, but it was probably deep enough to keep out any unwanted guests.

He smiled a little and looked up over the paper only to see the man was gone. Still, at least there was some hope of finding Koshino now.

* * *

Meanwhile, in some unknown place, Koshino was making futile attempts to stay warm in the freezing and dark place that she was being kept in. Suddenly light flooded the room and she was forced to shield her eyes against it. As her eyes adjusted to the bright light, she saw the outline of a human form. As she adjusted further, she saw his face. He had bright red hair, his left eye was scarred over and his left arm was completely gone. He walked into the room with a superior swagger than made her want to slug him.

"Well, well, let's see what we have here," he said kneeling down with a sickening smile.

He forcibly grabbed her chin and looked to be inspecting her for some reason or another.

"W-who are y-you?" she shuddered.

"No one you need to concern yourself with, I'm only delivering you somewhere."

Her fear was growing, but so was her anger. "It doesn't matter, Matt and my friends will come!" she shouted.

"Oh don't worry, I'm counting on it," he said slyly.

His meaning suddenly hit her. "You're going to try and kill him aren't you," she gasped.

He laughed. "Oh far from it, I would hate to see anything happen to Mr. Anderson. If anything, I want to keep him alive as long as possible, at least until he is of no more use to me."

"What are you talking about?"

He sneered again. "Like I said, nothing you need to know about."

With that, he backhanded her in the temple, knocking her out cold. He slung the girl over his shoulder and left the cell behind.

* * *

"What!?" shouted Matt.

It had been an hour since Koshino had been abducted and the group had hastened back to the Soul Society. Matt had been upset enough over the fact that he couldn't just go and rescue her, but Nathan, Toshiro, and Ichigo had insisted that they return to keep the Soul Society up to date and gather any needed reinforcements.

To Matts chagrin, the captains had gathered and asked for a summery of the situation so they could plan their next move. Matt had just suggested a rescue operation to get Koshino back, which they promptly refused.

"I'm sorry young Mathew, but until we gather more information about our new foes, I shall not risk more lives," said captain-general Yamamoto.

"She could be gone somewhere else by then! I have their location right now, we already have a team, we can do this!" he pleaded.

"I'm afraid that is just out of the question."

Matt clenched his teeth and balled his fists until he was sure they were going to bleed from the strain.

"Alright that's it, if all you're going to do is sit on your fat asses and do nothing while my friend is missing, then fuck you all! I'm gonna go rescue her myself!" he shouted, turning to leave.

"Mathew Anderson! If you walk out that door, you will relinquish your status as a Deputy Soul Reaper and will be placed under arrest for insubordination and treason!" boomed the old man.

Matt turned around with fire in his eyes and his deputy badge in his clenched hand.

"Arrest me? ...I'd like to see you try."

He quickly threw his badge like a shuriken at Yamamoto. He easily dodged it, but it was a good enough distraction to all the captains for him to go running out the doors. He sped straight passed the rest of the group that was waiting outside the chamber, and before they could ask what was happening, he was gone.

He leaped from rooftop to rooftop, making his way to the senkaimon that led to the world of the living. Halfway there, special forces soldiers tried to intercept him, but he was able to outrun them. They might have had their training, but Matt was one of the fastest Soul Reapers that he knew of. Only captain Soi Fon and Ichigo could rival him -and probably defeat him- in speed and agility.

As he jumped down to the senkaimon, the two guards moved to block his way. He landed in front of the lead one, kneeing him in the stomach, then grabbing him by the shoulders and tossing him into his partner. The gate was already closed, so he improvised and punched the doors open, shattering the stone that blocked his entrance. He looked back and several of the captains along with a small army of special forces soldiers behind them.

He pulled out his claymore and sliced apart one of the columns holding together the senkaimon before jumping through at the last minute. As he disappeared into the portal, the white gate collapsed in on itself, cutting off any further connection to the human world until they could repair it.

Matt ran at full speed through the path of the senkaimon; without the benefit of a hell butterfly, he couldn't afford to dilly-dally. This place was extremely dangerous without a hell butterfly, and if he didn't get to the other end in time, he'd be trapped in between worlds forever. Not a good prospect.

As he came up on the closing gate to the human world, he lowered his body and pushed harder with his legs. He was trying to gain as much speed as possible and his legs were burning from the strain. He jumped into the air and dived between the two doors just as they closed and he rolled onto the ground.

The gate had dropped him not too far from his house. It was a ways into the afternoon; about four o'clock by the looks of it. Matt headed back into his house, he had the map with him, now all he needed to do was do was find a way to get to the underwater cave without anyone, not even anyone in the human world, to know. He was sure he could do some research on the internet to find a ship that made its way near the coordinates the cave was at.

He jumped into his room and found his gigai, still under the control of the artificial soul, asleep. He sighed, but left it alone, he wouldn't be needing it. He just needed to make a few short preparations and he'd be set.

'_Don't worry Koshino, through hell or high water I'm coming for you.'_

* * *

**Ah, feels good to finally have that chapter done. Next chapter will be even better, as there will be another battle, as well as an explanation as to who these people are and what they plan to do. As well as why Matt is so very important to them all.  
**

**On another note, I thought now a good a time as any to explain Koshino's shikai, since some of you might have been confused as to what it does.**

**Basically, Kontan Denka can fire concentrated blasts of Koshino's reiatsu, but if she is around objects that are made up of or emit spiritual energy or pressure, she can absorb that into her gauntlet and use it to add onto her own power. Once that happens, she can release that power in an even larger blast with a larger killzone.** T**he reason she was so powerful in Soul Society was because everything in Soul Society is made of spiritrons or spirit particals; she can absorb anything and everything in the Soul Society to add to her own attack power.**

**There, now that that is cleared up, I'll see you all later. Review please_, please. _**


	8. Chapter 8: Going it Alone

Guardian Angel II

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 8

**Going it Alone  
**

**Disclaimer: **I don't freakin' own Bleach!

Alright, I'm back again my mind slaves! Here's the continuation of my "Koshino rescue operation" mini arc. This is probably the longest chapter I've ever written ever, so sit tight for this one! Some more story development near the end. Just a fair warning, we're about half way through the story already.

On a special note: the super main antagonist will be making an appearance in this chapter as well. He's a badass of the highest caliber, so there.

* * *

"That stupid bloody bastard," muttered Nathan.

Nathan, Ichigo, Holly, Grimmjow, Uryu, Chad and Toshiro sat in a meeting room in the thirteenth division barracks. Matt had now been missing for two hours and they were all worried, even Grimmjow was wondering what was going on with the kid.

"I can't believe he'd just go out on his own like that," said Holly.

"Hey, for once I'm on the kids' side. We had the map, we had the man-power, we should've busted in and kicked some ass!" shouted Grimmjow.

Ichigo nodded. "I wasn't a fan of just waiting around myself, but we've got to focus on what's happening now. We need to find Matt and we need to help him."

They were all in agreement on that.

"So first of all, we need to know who's in on this. I already know I'm going after him."

He looked around the room waiting for their responses.

"If Ichigo's going, then I am to," said Chad.

Uryu nodded as well.

"I'm in to, I'm helping Matt out whether those fat ass captains like it or not…no offense Toshiro."

"None taken, I thought it was stupid to. I'm in."

Ichigo turned to Grimmjow.

"Hey, if there's even the slightest chance I get to bash someone's face in, I'll go," he shrugged.

"Nathan?"

"Matt's my best friend, and one top of that, Koshino's in my division. I've got an obligation to the both of them," he answered.

Ichigo sighed and stood up, and the others followed suit.

"Right then; we'll need to head out and find where he's headed. If we follow the trail of his spiritual residue, we'll be able to find out where he's going."

"How are we gonna get back to the human world though, Matt trashed the senkaimon gate when he escaped the Soul Society?" asked Nathan.

"Don't worry about that. Each noble house has its own personal senkaimon. I'm sure Byakuya will let us use his if we ask; he's got a stick up his ass the size of Zangetsu when it comes to the law, but he owes me one," answered Ichigo.

"Enough chit-chat then, let's get our asses moving!"

* * *

Meanwhile in the human world, Matt was floating across Elliot Bay. As it turned out, the Elliot Bay Water Taxi's route passed extremely close to where he needed to be. He figured he was coming up close on it now, so he left the map on the ship; it had a sight barrier, so there was no chance of someone finding it. The cave was probably very deep underwater, which was why he was again thankful that Soul Reapers didn't have to breathe.

He sat on the railing overlooking the cold bay waters. Matt braced himself for the chilling waters and leaned over the edge. For a few brief seconds he felt the wind rush in his face, then suddenly everything was ice cold. His muscles locked up on him for the first few seconds, then he got slightly used to the temperature and flexed his arms and legs. Once he was sure he was in full control of his extremities, he pulled himself underwater.

The water was dark, but luckily the sun was still relatively up and shone down on the murky water, giving him some light until he reached deeper depths. He had not idea exactly how far down this cave was, but he was confident he could handle the water pressure, his body was much more resilient than even most water vehicles. The good news was that he wouldn't have to swim for this entire mission. Where there was an underwater cave, there was usually an air-pocket, which meant dry land.

He pushed and kicked deeper and deeper into the dark depths of the water, watching the occasional fish swim past then quickly rush away from his presence. It was getting increasingly harder to see as the sunlight that had guided his way was slowly fading away. He just kept swimming in a straight line though, sure that he could find it if he just kept looking.

It felt like he'd been swimming downward for an hour, in reality it had only been about ten minutes. He was almost completely blind when his hands finally hit the bottom of the bay. That was done, now he just needed to find the cave; for that he'd need light. He began breathing out fire in small bursts, just enough to see what was around him. For the most part it was just a rough plain of sand and rocks.

He slowly swam to the right, then the left, back and forth. He began to lose hope, maybe the map he got was wrong, or maybe he wasn't in the right spot. Then his foot hit something he wasn't expecting, it hit a hard surface. He looked down; his foot was resting on a plot of sand, but it didn't feel like sand. It was smooth and solid and unmoving.

He struck it with his foot as hard as the massive amounts of water above him would allow. When his foot struck it, it made a low _thunck_ sound.

'_Spiritual barrier, just like the guy said!'_

He flipped over in the water and placed his hands on the barrier and sent a reiatsu pulse coursing through it and disabling it. When it was finally gone, Matt could plainly see a large pathway deeper into the bay floor. It was neatly carved and straight, definitely not naturally made. Without any delay he swam down into the cave.

It got even darker without any sunlight at all, and Matt had to breathe fire again and again to keep from slamming to the cave walls. It seemed endless, just one straight path downward that didn't seemed to have a light at the end of the tunnel. Just as he thought that though, there was -ironically- a light at the end of the tunnel. He swam faster, madly kicking his legs and push the water away with his arms.

The path finally curved upward and with one final push he felt his head finally break free of the waters of Elliot Bay. He latched onto a ledge and pulled himself up, flopping down on the hard rock surface to take a rest. Despite the face that he was in an enemy base, he was still happy, at least he knew for sure Koshino was here now. He could even feel her spiritual pressure, albeit faintly. It seemed like there were three other massive spiritual pressures inside as well.

He'd avoid them if possible, but he would have Gabriel ready if it came down to fighting their way out. Besides, he fared will against Acedia and he was only using shikai. If he used Bankai, they shouldn't be too much trouble. He didn't have any fear as he rose and pushed aside the doors that led into the interior of their base.

'_Bring it on.'_

* * *

"So, who is she Ira?" asked a woman with short dark blond hair.

The one armed man was leaning against a wall outside the Soul Reapers cell in the lowest levels of the base. Every member of their little organization had their own specific base except for himself. He lost that privilege along with his arm. This base belonged to Invidia and Avaritia, twin sisters.

"One of Anderson's friends, she'll be good for leverage. We did want something on the guy so we could control him, well here she is," he said calmly.

"Hm, I guess she'll work," agreed the dark blond woman who was Invidia.

Avaritia jumped into the conversation, "Are you sure he won't be able to find us?"

Ira nodded. "Won't be a problem, he doesn't even know who we are yet."

The two grinned. Ira had always hated their grins, they were so big yet so empty. Pointless.

"Well, I'd _love _to stay, but I've got some other stuff to do," he said, dissipating into the air.

In truth, he just didn't want to stick around for the massacre to come. He'd love to stick around and enjoy his handiwork, but there was a chance that if he stayed he'd have to fight Matt, and he couldn't very well kill his best lapdog now could he? It didn't bother him that he couldn't stay to watch, because he already knew Matt was here and knew very well what happens to him when he gets angry.

* * *

Matt sidled across the hallways of the cave base. It was dark except for some torches that lit the way down the path. It was quiet so far, and he didn't feel any spiritual pressures besides Koshino and the now two larger pressures. That made him grin; the fewer to fight, the better. He was still dripping wet from the swim into the base. His clothes and hair were both matted to his body, which was quite annoying but livable.

He held Gabriel tight in his hand, hoping he would be able to sneak his way in and out of the base, but that probably wouldn't be the case. If he got too close to the two occupants of the base, they would surly sense him and attack. That severely restricted his movements, and if you add onto the fact that he had no idea where the hell he was going, it seemed like fighting was his only option.

He entered a new room; it wasn't anything like the hallways. This place was lavished and pristine; it put even Koshino's house to shame. There were marble floors and columns, gold chairs, fountains; it was practically and underwater mansion. As cool as it was, he pushed his curiosity aside and focused on the matter at hand.

He couldn't get her exact position, but he could feel Ksohino a few levels down and a bit farther east of his current location. He had two options; he could either make a huge entrance and get there faster but have to fight whoever was guarding her, or he could sneak his way down, which took longer, and still probably have to fight her guards.

"Ah, fuck it," he shrugged.

He rose his fist and punched the ground, collapsing the floor and taking him down to teh next lowest level. It sure as hell wasn't quiet or stealthy, but it worked and it was fast. He repeated the same process again, falling down another floor. He was sure that had gotten the attention of whoever was living here.

Sure enough, he felt the spiritual pressures moving the second he hit the ground. They were moving fast, but he could outrun them if he had to, and if he hid away his spiritual pressure, he just might be able to grab Koshino and run before they found them. He'd have to keep up his pace and find her cell quickly though.

With that, he punched in the ground again, blowing away another level of floor. Her presesnce was getting stronger, another four or five levels and he'd be on the right floor. Another punch and another floor exploded into dust. The fragments of rocks were cutting up his knuckles a bit and felt trickles of blood ooze out of his hand. It was minor pain though, hardly anything to complain about, so he smashed away another level of ground.

'_Three more floors, that's all!'_ he shouted in his mind.

He could feel the two pressures getting closer. Luckily, they hadn't caught onto what he was doing yet and were on the completely wrong floor. If he kept his pace, he could confuse them enough to make his way out before they were any the wiser. He had landed on the next floor down, he was making good progress.

He smashed away another floor and landed hard on his arm on the next one down. It was, again, minor pain and barley worth a grunt of discomfort. Matt quickly rose and raised his fist again and smashed away the last floor in his way. With that, he landed safely on his feet this time and reached out with his spiritual senses. He could feel her with much more detail now, she wasn't too far off, just down a few halls.

'_Almost there, almost there.'_

* * *

Back in the Soul Society, Ichigo and the rest of the group were just about to use Byakuya's personal senkaimon gate.

"Thanks Byakuya, see ya around," said Ichigo.

The captain merely nodded and turned to leave.

Nathan and Holly were already though the gate, followed by Grimmjow and Toshiro. Chad and Uryu followed and Ichigo jumped in last and crossed the trans-dimensional corridor that led to the human world. He ran through with all speed, reaching the end without incident. They were all standing in front of Matt's house, which still had some of his spiritual residue around it, indicating that he'd been back here recently.

"It seems he's gone off that way," said Uryu, pointing off into the distance.

"Holly, what's off in that direction?" asked Ichigo.

She thought for a second and said, "Well, besides downtown Seattle, there's Elliot Bay."

"Yeah," said Grimmjow, "I remember something about an Elliot Bay when that cloaked guy gave Matt the map! He said there was an underwater cave or something!"

"So we get to the bay, meet up with Matt, and save his sorry ass!" said Nathan.

"Right!" said Holly.

On that note, they all headed off towards Elliot Bay to help Matt. Wherever he was under those waters, he was probably in over his head on a ridiculous scale.

* * *

All the way back in the cave under Elliot Bay, Koshino sat huddled in a corner of her cell in an effort to stay warm. Her cell was dark, rough, and had no entrance or exit that she could see, not that she'd gotten up to check. Her spiritual senses were dulled, but she could sense well enough to know that the people who'd been standing outside her cell a minute ago were now gone.

She would have tried to investigate it, but she was in too much pain. Her captors hadn't been the kindest bunch and made sure she was nice and injured before they stuck her in here. Most of her injuries focused around her legs so she couldn't run, or walk for that matter. She couldn't even stand if she wanted to.

She was about to fall asleep when she suddenly felt warmer. She sat up a bit to try and identify what it was. It was definitely a spiritual pressure, and it was warm, almost hot. It was growing stronger by the second and it didn't take her long to figure out who it was.

The pressure suddenly stopped growing though, it just stood still. A second later, she heard the sound of crunching metal, then again, and for a third time. Out of nowhere, light shone into her cell as the door was busted down. A figure stepped into the room, and after a few seconds of adjusting to the new light, she saw Matt's smiling face.

He stepped to her and kneeled down, pulling her into an unexpected hug.

"Geez, I leave you for five minutes and look what happens," he joked.

"W-where are the o-others?" she asked weakly.

She couldn't see the sullen look on his face. "They couldn't make it, but believe me, they wanted to come."

She lifted her arms slowly and wrapped her arms around his waist, clutching his robes tightly.

"The important t-thing to me is...you came."

He smiled, but was monitoring the two pressures at the same time, and they were making their way back here quickly.

"Well, we're not out of the woods yet, I've still gotta get you out of here. Can you walk?"

She shook her head. "They cut up my legs, I can't even stand."

"Bastards," he said under his breath.

"Come on then," he said, picking her up bridal style.

"What are you-?"

"If you can't walk then I'm carrying you out, simple as that. I can outrun those two idiots out there no problem, we'll have you back home before you know it," he reassured her.

She nodded and held on tight to him as he dashed out of the cell and though the hallways at full speed. As he sped onward, Koshino that his right hand was bleeding. It didn't look like he had gotten into a fight, so why would his hand be bleeding?

"Matt, what happened to your hand?"

He suddenly stopped. "Look up."

She was confused, but complied anyway. What she saw was a series of gaping holes in the floors of the cave.

"Did you-?"

"Punch through them all? Yup, much quicker than stairs wouldn't you say?"

With that, he crouched down and jumped into the air, leaping all the way back to the top level. The room still remained a sight to behold, despite the huge hole in the floor and the rubble scattered all over the place.

"All we need to do is get back to the surface and we're home free!" he said, more to himself than her.

He was just about to the door when he suddenly sensed the two pressures again. The next thing he knew, there were two figure standing in his way, blocking off the door. They both looked frustrated, but also surprised, like they didn't expect him to be here at all.

One on the right had short dark blond hair and bright green eyes, and the one on the left had long bright blond hair with brown eyes. They both had the same face though, they must have been sisters.

"How...how did you find us so fast?" asked the one on the left.

"I had some help, you obviously don't have very good security if someone can find your base and put it on a map," said Matt smugly.

"You don't think...?" said the girl on the right.

"...Ira. That treacherous bastard," hissed the girl on the left.

"Who's Ira?"

They both turned their attention back to Matt and scowled.

"It doesn't matter, because you won't be alive long enough to worry about it," said the girl on the left.

Matt snickered and turned away to set Koshino down somewhere she wouldn't get hurt. He placed her by one of the marble columns.

"Just sit tight and let me handle this, it won't take long," smiled Matt.

"But last time you fought a person like this you almost died!"

He laughed lightly. "Relax; this time...I'm going all out."

She was about to protest further, but he'd already turned around and was heading back to the pair of enemies blocking their way.

"So, I don't know or care who you are at the moment, but I might as well introduce myself."

"We already know who you are," said the short haired girl.

"Matt Anderson, age sixteen, Deputy class Soul Reaper," said the other.

Matt laughed again. "Not as of three hours ago I'm not," he said raising Gabriel.

"Enough talking though, I'm getting bored. What say we liven things up here."

Matt centered his zanpakuto in front of him and gathered an amount of reiatsu he hadn't used in quite a while. He could feel the power creeping into his hands and then into his sword.

"You two should count yourselves lucky, I haven't had to use this in a_ long_ time."

The air around him was starting to destabilize and reiatsu poured out of him like a fountain. The pressure coming off him was enough to make the two in front of him shudder and force a chill up their spines.

"Here we go! **Bankai**!

All the spirit energy that he'd pent up until now rushed outward in the white column of flames that he felt the last time he activated his Bankai. He felt his normal robes disappear, and in its place was the bottom of Gabriel's robes, as well as his white overcoat and metal shoulder plates. His Bankai had a new addition though, it had evolved since he first used it. His bankai now entailed two ivory white wings sprouting from his back, adding to his already massive power and speed.

He opened his eyes, now a pure crystal blue instead of his normal ocean blue ones. The two opponents he was facing down now had drawn a dagger each. They blades were black and he could see a faint blood red spiritual aura coming from both of them. They had an overly dark feel to them, like they were the embodiment of their own special type of evil. Matt scanned them both, they were strong, no doubt about that, but his Bankai was more than a match for the both of them.

"Impressive," said the short haired girl, "but we have our own powers. Allow me to demonsta-"

She was suddenly cut off, as Matt was no longer in front of them, but behind them. He stood casually with his sword stuck in the ground, creating a molten puddle of magma where he planted it.

"I just said 'enough talking'."

Matt snapped his fingers, and the girl's torso suddenly exploded in a splatter of blood. dozens of slash wounds could be seen, making her look like someone had preformed a brutal autopsy on her. She was dead before she hit the floor.

"Invidia!" cried the other girl. She kneeled over the person who was most likely her sister and placed her hands over her body and began to shake her, like she couldn't comprehend what had just happened. She actually looked like she was sobbing and she clutched her blade harder.

She leaped up at Matt and shrieked with her dagger raised high. Matt sidestepped the first attack and ducked under her second swipe. She was attacking with no defined form or strategy, she was just swiping at him like she was crazy. She was extremely easy to dodge, but she got one lucky shot in on his right cheek. Normally he wouldn't have even felt it, but that dagger _did_ have special properties like he thought.

He felt a small fraction of his power suddenly disappear. It was quickly replaced, but it was large enough for him to notice its temporary absence. She knew that he noticed to because she was now wearing a sickeningly insane grin.

"Like it? My power allows me to steal peoples energy from them! The deeper the wound, the more power I steal! And you, you're like an all you can eat buffet!" she said, followed by an almost insane giggle.

_'Reiatsu siphoning huh? Well I already know how to beat her then.'_

She charged forward again, and stabbed her dagger forward. Matt made no attempt at all to move out of the way and the blade plunged itself into his chest, just below his heart. Instantly he could feel his power being funneled into her weapon, but it didn't worry him. She was killing herself and she was none the wiser.

"Accepted your fate, huh? Don't worry, I'll put this power to good use. First I'll use it to finish off your whore of a girlfriend, then I'll take out that fucker, Ira! He'll pay for killing my sister, just like you are now!"

Matt just kept his confident smile; she was pretty dumb, even for a blond. (A/N: My sister is blond, and she's pretty stupid, so I have the right to make fun of them!)

"There we go, I think I've got my fill," she said slyly.

When she was about to pull her dagger out of his chest, Matt grasped her wrist and kept the dagger in his chest. She had a look of surprise on her face.

"W-what are you doing!?"

"Let me explain to you just what's happening here."

Matt reached under his robes and revealed his cross necklace that Kisuke had given him a year ago. He still remembered the last time he visited the weirdo, that was when he was told of his condition. His ability to break down his Spirit Buffers, how it was doing harm to him and that was why he wore the necklace in the first place. The mechanics of it were also explained to him, how it worked, what it did.

He had to admit, as pissed as he was that Kisuke and Ichigo never told him what was going on, he was grateful that they cared enough to build him something like this. It looked like he had to thank him again the next time he visited Karakura.

"See this, this necklace is a sort of reiatsu recycler. It takes my excess spiritual pressure that's normally evicted from my body and reintegrates it. Also, my wings hold large extra stores of power, a sort of boost if you will. Between these two factors and my already large stores of spirit energy, I have a near infinite supply of the stuff," he explained.

"In short missy; you're gonna run out of space before I run out of power, and when that happens...well, you get the picture."

As he finished that sentence, he saw fear replace confidence in her eyes. She began to struggle to let go of the dagger, but Matt's hand held her in place. She couldn't budge and couldn't break free, and on top of that, she was running out of space to put all the power that was being funneled into her.

He held her hand there for another ten seconds and then she began to overload. The power Matt was now forcing into her was building up and was leaking out visibly anywhere it could find an opening. the energy was pouring out her mouth, her eyes, her skin was even beginning to glow.

She screamed in pain, it was all too much for her body to contain. With one final shriek, the power forced its way out of her, ripping her body to shreds. She literally exploded from the inside out, killing her instantly.

Matt stood unharmed, save for the dagger in his chest. He easily pulled it out though, and threw it aside, letting the metal pang against the rock floor.

With those two out of the way, he walked back over to Koshino, who was still leaning against the marble column. She showed more shock than either of the other two girls had combined. As he walked forward, he dissipated his his bankai, leaving only his black Soul Reaper robes behind. Even though he'd won the fight, he was still exhausted from having to replace that much spirit energy at one time.

He was almost to Koshino when he heard a lone applause from behind him. He turned to see another cloaked figure, but this one was different. For one it was leagues stronger than the one that usual showed up, and the cloak and hood was black instead of the usual brown.

"Impressive Matt, very impressive."

"Alright, how does everyone seem to know who I am!?" he shouted.

He seemed to not be listening and walked over to examine the one dead body that remained. He nudged it with his foot, but didn't seem too interested.

"It seems Invidia and Avaritia weren't quite as powerful as I first believed. That still doesn't answer the question of how you found your way here in the first place though."

"I had help," he said.

"Help you say...only a person with intimate knowledge of our organization could have known where this base was. I already know who it was. I'll have to punish Ira once I'm done here, this treachery cannot be overlooked."

"Who is this Ira guy!?"

"He is the one who has been assisting you, and the one who abducted the girl I would surmise. I believe he's been using you to try and destroy us without our knowledge," he said in a monotone voice.

"I don't like being used," he growled.

"Don't worry, he will receive the maximum punishment. You however, will not live to see that come to pass; you know too much. You both must die."

At that he drew a blade. To Matt's shock, it was a claymore just like his, in fact...it was identical to his. There was only one thing that differed from his blade; the triquetra on his blade had no ring through his.

(For those of you who aren't history/ancient culture buffs, the triquetra originated as a pagan symbol, but was later adopted into the christian religion. The thing that makes the christian triquetra different from regular triquetra is the ring that runs through the three prongs. Without the ring, it's a pagan symbol and obviously associated with pagan religions or in some cases just plain old evil in general.)

Matt quickly moved to grab Koshino; he grasped ahold of her and lifted her up. Matt was about to run for it when an invisible force suddenly lifted him up and caused him to drop Koshino to the ground. As Matt was lifted up into the air, Koshino groaned from the pain that shot up her legs.

The telekinetic powers this guys seemed to have were constricting on his body and he felt his left arm crack. He cried out in pain as two of his ribs snapped as well. His body was being slowly ripped apart, and his bones were breaking one at a time.

Suddenly he heard a familiar voice, "**Getsuga Tensho!**"

The door to the main hall exploded open and Ichigo flew out of the smoke. Following him were Toshiro and Holly, then Nathan and Grimmjow, and bringing up the rear were Uryu and Chad. Matt's most recent attacker lost his focus on him and turned to the new threat. They group surrounded him on all sides as Matt fell to the ground next to Koshino.

"Annoyances," muttered the hooded man before he dissipated into thin air.

Matt tried to get up, but his body gave out on him and he was stuck on the ground. He was feeling a little dizzy and suddenly very tired. As he slipped into unconsciousness he heard an anthem of people calling his name before he fell into blackness.

* * *

**Finally done, oh dear god finally done! It took me soooooooo long to write this chapter, it was rediculous! **

**Anyway, next chapter will be important as well. I promise by the time the next chapter is finished, everything will make sense...for the most part. I have to keep something for the last few chapters ya know.**

**I'm begging some kind soul out there to review, I'm getting lonely.**

* * *


	9. Chapter 9: Under the Moonlight

Guardian Angel

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 9

**Under the Moonlight  
**

**Disclaimer: **Bleach is not, nor shall it ever be, mine.

Okay guys, looooooots of story development in this chapter, so sorry if you find it a bit dialog centric. Everything will be explained, and you should be able to grasp just what is going on and why by the time this thing is over. I'd estimate we have about five or so chapters left, maybe a few more. Plus, there's something in this chapter some of you guys have been waiting for for a while, so for all you hopeless romantics...enjoy.

What I need to know right now though, and I mean NOW, is this; should I make another sequel? I have two endings in mind, neither is too different from the other, but they differ in one extreme way that will either leave it open, or close it forever. I have a poll on my profile page where you can vote on if I should continue on, or if you feel it's getting a bit boring, what I should do next. I'd like you guys to voice your opinions.

Now...ONWARD!

* * *

Matt woke up in mild pain. His sides were aching, and his left arm was sore, but none the worse for wear. He turned his head slightly and realized that he was back in his room. From the amount of light, he'd say it was a little after sundown. His head was in a haze and it took him a minute to remember everything that had happened. Then he remembered; his defection from Soul Society, finding Koshino, killing those two girls who were trying to stop him, and getting his ass kicked by another weird hooded guy. None of this made any sense, what was going on?

He was in so much deep shit it wasn't even funny. Not only did he have to worry about those weird hooded guys, but now he had the Soul Society on his ass to. He just couldn't seem to win. He threw all that aside though when he remembered that he passed out before he could see what happened to Koshino.

He turned his head farther, only to see that said girl was resting her head on the edge of his bed, apparently asleep. He enjoyed a short laugh, realizing just how tired she must have been. Then another thought hit him; had she been watching over him this whole time? A smile found its way to his face as he stretched out his good right hand and started stroking her hair.

She smiled lightly in her sleep and leaned her head in the direction of his hand. Matt laughed a little louder that time. That combined with the physical contact, seemed to be enough to wake her up because her eyes began to flutter and she lifted her head slowly.

"M-matt?" she said drearily.

"Yeah, I'm here."

He pushed himself up and sat cross-legged, his blanket covering everything below the waist. His sides hurt a bit, but it wasn't anything he couldn't deal with. Koshino sat up as well and sat back down on Matts bed across from him.

"So…what's happened since I went down?"

"Oh, uh…well Captain Toshiro, Ichigo, and Lieutenant Yester went back to the Soul Society to appeal to the other captains to let you back into the Soul Reapers. Holly went back to her house after spending most of the day here, and the others went back to the hotel. I told them I'd stay here to watch over you."

"Oh, I appreciate it."

There was a silence after that; it was just the two of them sitting in a dark room with absolutely nothing moving at all. Matt wondered for a moment where his gigai was, but then it occurred to him how little he actually cared.

"So, you know about what happened back in the Soul Society then?" he asked suddenly.

She nodded. "Yes, and I can't believe you did it."

Matt changed his expression to one of confusion. "Why not?"

"You gave up your rank and your career just to come after me, you're a criminal now because of me!"

"Koshino…it's not your fault. I'm wanted because _I chose_ to come after you against the captain council's wishes. Your life is more important to me than a title and a badge," he said, taking one of her hands in his.

There was another long silence, neither one of them really sure what to do or say. This time, it was Koshino who broke the quiet.

"Matt...there's something I've been wanting to ask you."

He shifted around nervously. "Uh, sure, go ahead."

She took a deep breath and exhaled equally deeply. Her cheeks were red and her hands were clutching onto her robes, all of which made Matt more nervous about what she was going to ask him.

"I just...wanted to know...what you think of me," she said meekly.

"Uh, well...let me think. You're kinda quiet sometimes, and a little shy."

Her head lowered and he realized that what he'd said was extremely stupid.

"Uh...uh, but, your determined, and that's something I admire. You're a kind person, nice. You're really loyal to, you stick by people even when things are rough. Like right now for instance."

His quick recovery seemed to have made her forget his previous stupidity and she was blushing a little.

**"Heh, I really am enjoying this," said Gabriel.**

_'Shut up! This is hard enough without you here!'_

**"Calm down, I'm just here to say that this is your chance," **he said plainly.

_'Chance for what?'_

**"Do you have any brains in that head at all you fool!?"**

He sighed, **"Look, you just risked life and limb to save her, she's already obviously interested in you, just tell her how you feel now!"**

_'Give me one good reason why I should listen to you!'_

**"I just gave you two!"**

_'Fine, I'll do it, but you have to do something for me.'_

**"What would that be?"**

_'Quit coming into my head unannounced, it's annoying.'_

**"Done and done," **he said happily.

'_Right...here we go then.'_

He imitated Koshino in the fact that he inhaled deeply and exhaled equally as deep. This was potentially the stupidest thing he would ever do, but he had to admit that the payoff would be worth it. Denying the fact that he'd become pretty attracted to Koshino would have been a useless move because he didn't even believe it anymore. Oh well, might as well just jump right in and wing it from there.

"Koshino...there's something I've had on my mind for a while, and I think it would be easier for me if I just got it off my chest now rather than later," he started.

She leaned forward, almost like she could sense what he was about to say but was waiting for confirmation anyway. "What is it?"

He nervously inhaled again. Man, and he thought public speaking was scary; the girl in front of him was scaring him more than any crowd, or even any Hollow for that matter, ever could.

"Well, we've gotten to know each other pretty well right?"

She nodded. "I'd say so, yes."

Matt began scratching the back of his neck, another nervous habit of his.

"You see...the thing is...I just wanted to tell you...I...I kinda..."

He put his hand over his eyes; he couldn't do this for the life of him. He really wanted to tell her, he just couldn't form the words in a coherent fashion. He was getting frustrated over his own cowardice. He tossed the thoughts aside though, when the both simultaneously felt a particularly menacing spiritual pressure. He quickly threw on his robes, which were laying on the back of a chair, and grabbed Gabriel. Koshino also rushed to grab Kanton Denka and set it onto her sash.

They both jumped out his window and onto his roof, the pressure was making its way here, all they had to do was wait. Every second, the pressure grew stronger and stronger.

Matt grasped Koshino's hand tightly. "Don't worry, I'll protect you this time," he whispered.

"I know you will," she whispered back.

Suddenly the pressure was on top of them both and a brown cloaked man that Matt recognized appeared on his roof in front of them. He took a few steps forward and then removed his hood. He had bright red hair and a scarred over left eye, and his left arm was missing as well.

Matt gripped Gabriels hilt tightly. Koshino held onto Matt's hand tighter, her eyes flared with fear.

"Matt, he's the one who kidnapped me," she whispered.

"So, I take it your the one everyone seems to be talking about. Ira, right?"

He smirked. "That's me. Since you know who I am now, I can only assume you know what I've been doing."

Anger was welling up in Matts chest. "Yeah; using me to do your dirty work, kidnapping my friends, being an all around dip-shit!"

He sneered again. "Heh, I like you kid, you got balls. Lucky for you, I'm not here for a fight, I'm actually here to explain a few things to you."

"Why would you do that, your our enemy aren't you?"

"In a manner of speaking yes. But you know what they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I'm more interested in killing off those other bastards than I am in killing you."

Matt stared at him, not sure whether to accept the help or not. He was technically the enemy, therefore couldn't be trusted, but on the other hand, what he said was true, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

He sighed. "Say what you've come to say, but no sudden moves," he warned.

"Fine then," he agreed, sitting down cross-legged in front of them.

"So first off, you're probably wondering just who we are."

Matt nodded.

"Tell me then Matt, you ever heard of the seven deadly sins?" Ira asked.

"Sure, I know all of them."

"Well, everyone you've fought and met up until now, myself included, are avatars of one of the seven deadly sins. The first one you met, Acedia, was the avatar of Sloth. The two you've already killed were Greed and Envy," he explained.

"So which are you?"

"Me? I'm the avatar of Wrath, what'd you expect?"

"Makes sense. I have another question though, who was the dark cloaked guy with the weird mental powers?"

Ira scowled at the mention of that particular person. "He's the one who did all this to me. He's their leader, a human who's been possessed by a powerful demon."

"A demon?"

**"A demon?" **repeated Gabriel.

_'What happened to our agreement?'_

**"Shut up, I need to hear this"**

"You've probably never heard of this guy before, but their leader is a demon named Astaroth."

"Doesn't ring a bell," said Matt.

**"It does to me."**

_"Well who is he?"_

**"A powerful prince of Hell, he's high up on the underworld hierarchy. What he's doing in the human world I haven't the foggiest though," **said Gabriel.

"So what's he trying to do?" asked Matt.

"I'll let you guess, it starts with an 'A' and ends in 'pocalypse'; are you really that fuckin' stupid?"

"I kind of got that vibe, I meant how's he gonna do it smartass."

"You remember those black creatures I summoned, they kind of looked like vasto lordes?"

"Yeah, what were those things?"

"They're called Hellspawn Hollows," stated Ira.

"Hellspawn...Hollows?" asked Koshino hesitantly.

"Yup. You guys are Soul Reapers, so you know what happens to some Hollows when you slay them, they get sent to hell because of their sins. Well, those Hollows are beefed up and make up the whole of Hells army."

"Normally, only a handful can cross over at any given time, but Astaroth has a spell in the works that will act as a bridge between Hell and this plane. Once that happens, Hells armies will walk the Earth and lay waste to everything in their path," he continued.

**"This is an abomination! Astaroth is breaking the most important rule of the natural order; no interfering with humans!" **shouted Gabriel.

_'But you interfered with me.'_

**_"_Not true, I only interacted with you after you died. There's no rule against interfering with spirits that have died."**

_'Why is that?'_

**"Because normally, no one would want to anyway. The cycle of reincarnation that the Soul Society has in place is another intricate design in the natural order," **he explained.

**"****You see, Heaven and Hell are reserved only for the most pure or evil souls on earth. Meanwhile, the Soul Society takes in all of the average soul who were neither good nor evil. The reincarnation cycle is meant to give those souls multiple chances to truly move on. The Soul Society isn't a true afterlife, if anything it is actually more along the lines of limbo. An endless cycle of life and death until one can prove themselves worthy of Heaven or evil enough for Hell."**

_'Huh, that actually makes a lot of sense. That's why no one from Hell has messed with the Soul Society before, they have just as much to gain from the cycle as Heaven does.'_

**"Exactly, which is why Astaroth's actions confuse me," **he muttered to himself.

Matt decided to act on this new information. "So, what's Astaroth's reason for doing this, what's he gain?"

Ira shrugged. "Same reason I'm helping you kill him, he's tired of being ordered around. My guess is he's conquering earth so he can rule over it."

Another question nagged at him. "So if this is such a problem for everyone, how come no one is jumping in to stop him?"

"My guess is that the guys on both ends know what's going on, they just can't quite find him, or maybe they don't want to interfere, I really don't care. All I know is, whether the big man downstairs likes it or not, those Hellspawn Hollows are gonna come rushing out as soon as Astaroth finishes that spell. Now, do you want my help or not?"

As much as Matt hated this guy, and what this Astaroth person was trying to do, he needed someone who knew what they were up against on their side. So far, Ira was the only person offering.

"Fine, but I'm taking you down if you make so much as one step towards Koshino. I'm not having a repeat of what I just got done with."

He scoffed. "Don't flatter her, she wasn't that important to begin with. All I needed her for was to nudge you to kill Invidia and Avaritia, nothing more."

"Whatever; you can help us if you want, but I doubt the others will be very receptive."

"I don't need friends kid, I just want those bastards dead. I'll be back tomorrow, I'll fill the rest of you little rabble in then."

Matt nodded. "Fine, 'till then."

With that, Ira disintegrated into the air, leaving the two of them alone on the roof. Within a few seconds, the last of his dark particles were gone to the wind, and Matt released the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. He looked down at his feet, wondering if what he did was the right move.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" asked Koshino.

"Not in the slightest, but like it or not, we need him."

He released his grip on Koshino's hand and walked to the edge of his roof. He plopped down and sat with his legs hanging over the edge, supported by his hands. He sighed and looked up into the sky; there were no stars visible in the sky, but there never was, it was Seattle after all. Illuminating the sky in their stead was a bright full moon that shone down with a milky white light. Ir reminded him of the shade his trench-coat and wings were in his Bankai state.

Koshino quietly sat down next to him, letting her legs hang over the edge as well. They both looked up at the full moon, enthralled in its soft glow.

"So...what was it that you were telling me?" she asked.

"Huh?" he said, his thoughts still too locked on current events to remember what they were talking about.

"Back in your room, you were trying to tell me something."

The memory hit him like a ton of bricks, and once again he was back in this awkward situation that he was too much of a damn chicken to get through. All it would take were three simple words, 'I like you', but no, he would rather fight an army of those Hellspawn Hollows than face this situation down.

"Uh...well I...um."

'_Damn it, just say it you coward!' _he screamed in his head.

"What is it?" she asked, placing a her hand over his.

He sighed. "It's really not something I can say out loud. I don't know why, I just can't. I think I have a way around it though."

"Well, what is it?"

"Just promise me you won't freak out," he said with a nervous laugh.

"I promise."

He sighed again. "Here goes nothing then," he muttered to himself.

He gripped her hand tighter, raised his other hand and placed it on her cheek, then finally leaned forward. He heard her gasp a bit before he gently pressed his lips on hers. He had his eyes closed, but he imagined that she had her eyes bulging out of their sockets right now, he would've reacted the same way. He honestly didn't know what the outcome would be, but he figured he'd either succeed, or get nailed in the face.

His fear melted away though, when he felt her free hand slide onto his hand that was still placed firmly on her cheek. With his apprehension out of the way, he could happily sit back and enjoy the ride. It started out quite tame, but it soon grew a bit more aggressive. Right before the two of them broke off for air, their lips were practically melded together.

Matt recovered quickly enough, but Koshino seemed to be breathing heavily, like she was in shock.

"You alright?" he asked, ending it with an unintentional laugh.

She smiled and nodded. Matt smiled as well and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, letting her lean on him.

"You have no idea how nervous I was to do that," he laughed again.

She shifted around slightly snuggled closer to him. "I'm glad you did," she said softly.

"You're not the only one," he said, both of them looking back up at the full moon above them.

* * *

**Okay, okay, I really, _really, _honestly tried to make that scene good. I think it actually wasn't half bad, I'm getting better at this kind of stuff in my opinion. Again, I'd really like your opinion. Remember, I have a poll on my profile page for you guys, so hop to it!**

**Now I hate being 'that guy', but I'm really desperate for reviews here. I haven't gotten any in well over a week, which is not something I'm used to. To motivate you, I've decided to not even start on the next chapter until _someone_ reviews.** **You think I'm kidding? Try me.**

**The choice is yours**

**until next time...whenever that is.  
**


	10. Chapter 10: I Wait for the Dawn

Guardian Angel II

War if the Seven Sins

Chapter 10

**I Wait for the Dawn**

**Disclaimer: **Bleach...why is it not mine?

Figures, the second I make a threat to not write until I get reviews, Human.Vizard comes riding in on a white stallion and shoots off two reviews, then isn't heard from again. Ah well, such is life.

I'll get this out of the way right now; this is not a good chapter, it really isn't. This is, if anything, just a filler chapter that leads into the the actual cool stuff. The good news is, if you're so brave as to sit through this, the next few chapters will make up for it.

We'll be entering a (get ready for this) four part mini-arc, a huge battle involving almost every other Bleach character I haven't touched upon yet (Renji, Byakuya, Zaraki, various other captains and lieutenants, etc.) plus the final battle between Matt/Ira and Astaroth. We're in for a good five or six action packed chapters, plus the epilogue of course.

All that amounts to about two weeks worth at most, so I'll be deciding in the next few days if I want to continue this in a third installment, or if I'm going to close the story forever. Again, I'd like your opinion on whether or not to make a third Guardian Angel story. If you guys want me to, I gladly will, but unless you speak up, I'll probably be discontinuing the story.

* * *

With a grunt, Matt woke up and rolled over on his bed. It was still pretty early in the morning, but he had to prepare what he was going to say to the others about Ira. He was probably going to show up again later in the day, so he had to gather everyone up while he could. He sat up, stretched, and yawned. He looked over to his right and saw Koshino still asleep on the floor next to his bed. She was curled up into a ball under her sheet with a small smile on her face.

He laughed quietly and threw his blanket over her. She unconsciously grasped it and continued her slumber. Matt walked out off his room and walked down the hallway until he entered the kitchen were his gigia, under the influence of an artificial soul, was rummaging through his fridge. He heard him walk in and looked up.

He was already dressed for the most part. He had a pair of old jeans on, some socks, and a white undershirt.

"Hey boss, just grabbing some food," he said casually.

"No need, I'll be jumping back in for a little while," he said.

The gigai shrugged and stood still as Matt approached. He felt himself meld back in with the body. Once he was finally inside, he coughed up the pill that held the soul –a process he detested- and stuck it in his pocket. He shook around his limbs to regains some feeling, gigai were so constraining. He couldn't remember how he ever stayed sane back when he was alive, being trapped in that body all the time.

Ignoring the minor discomfort, he returned to what his gigai had been doing before him, rummaging though the fridge for some breakfast. He pulled out four frozen waffles and put them in the toaster. While they were cooking, he grabbed the syrup from the cupboard and took out a pair of forks and knives. Just as he finished grabbing the plates, the toaster popped out the four waffles.

He divided them into two separate groups on their individual plates. After pouring both of them with syrup, he carried them back to his room. Koshino was still, obviously, asleep. Matt placed the plates on his desk and kneeled down next to her, and lightly tickled her nose.

Her hands came up to knock his away every time, but they never hit them. He laughed to himself as he bugged her in her sleep. After a while she shot upward suddenly and almost hit Matt in the face, luckily he was able to move out of the way.

"I'm awake!" she shouted.

"Heh, well it's good to hear, but shouting wasn't really necessary," he teased.

She shook her head and joined the rest of reality. "Oh, good morning," she said, a little embarrassed.

"Mornin', sleep well?"

She nodded happily.

"Good, I made us some breakfast," he said, hopping over her and grabbing the two plates on his desk.

"Waffles; are these the only thing you ever eat for breakfast?" she teased back.

"Pretty much."

He plopped down next to her on the floor and dug right into his breakfast. He felt Koshino lean on his shoulder, and smiled to himself. He found it almost hilarious how one night had eliminated almost all awkwardness between the two of them. Now that he looked back on it, he wasn't even sure why the both of them were so shy around each other. He guessed they both just needed some sort of definite clarification, and they got their wish.

Despite all that was happening, and had yet to happen, this was probably the best he'd felt since first becoming a Soul Reaper. Now that he thought about it though, he did have someone to thank.

_'Hey…Gabriel.'_

**"Yes Matt?"**

_'I guess I owe you one for pushing me. I needed the extra nudge.'_

**"It's what I do."**

_'Yeah well, thanks.'_

Matt finished his breakfast without even realizing he was actually done, and took Koshino's plate when she was done as well. They both walked down the hallway, back into the kitchen. Matt put the plates in the sink and Koshino leaned against the table.

"So, do you know when everyone will be here?" he asked.

"As far as I know, everyone should be coming straight back here today."

He nodded and dried his hands with a stray towel. He smirked when an idea formed in his head, he had to restrain himself from laughing.

"Well ya know, we've got some time to kill," he said.

"I guess we do."

He was slowly sneaking up on her, as her back was currently turned to him and he had to keep from laughing again. Just as she was about to turn to him again, he wrapped his arms around her waist and began furiously tickling her. Almost immediately she burst out laughing and tried in vain to pull away. Meanwhile, Matt was laughing manically as he tortured the poor girl.

"MATT! M-MATT! QUIT IT, I'M T-TICKLISH!" she laughed.

"NEVER!" he shouted back.

The two of them stumbled across Matt's living room; Koshino trying to break Matt's iron grip, and Matt just trying to hang on as she's thrashed around. All the while they were having a blast. It surprised them both when Matt stepped in front of Koshino's foot, sending the both of them tumbling to the ground. Matt gave up trying to attack her further and they were content with just laying on the floor laughing their heads off like a pair of idiots.

"Ah...ah, that was fun, but don't ever do that again," she said, slapping his arm. Matt rolled onto his side and landed a quick kiss on her cheek, all the while still laughing to himself. Their fun was interrupted though, when they heard the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat above them.

They both looked up. Staring back down at them was Holly, who had one eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip.

"Alright you two...what did I miss?"

* * *

After a few minutes of embarrassed babbling from both Matt and Koshino, they both accepted the fact that Holly wouldn't buy into any excuses they made. She promised she wouldn't say anything, but also stated that it was pretty obvious to everyone already, and that she and Nathan had actually joked about it quite a lot when they weren't around. That fact only served to piss off Matt and further embarrass Koshino more than she already was.

"Don't worry guys, I know it's not my place to tell. Though you could try and make it less obvious."

"Was it really that out there?" asked Matt.

"Things are always easier to see when you're looking from the outside in, plus I'm your best friend, it's my job to know this stuff before you do," she said, poking his forehead all the while.

"Yeah, yeah," he groaned, shooing her hand away.

He suddenly heard a knock at his front door, and sensed three distinct spiritual pressures on the other side. Uryu, Chad, and Grimmjow were here. That only left Ichigo, Nathan, and Toshiro, then the gang would all be here. He wasn't exactly looking forward to explaining this whole situation to them, especially the part with Ira getting involved. Matt unlocked the door and swung it open, and there stood the trio.

"Hey guys, come on in. Now that you're here, all we're waiting on is Ichigo, Nathan, and Frosty."

"Cool, I hate waiting," said Grimmjow, heading straight for his fridge.

"Hey, you could've at least waited until if _offered _you food! Barging into someones house and helping yourself to their food is disrespectful in America to ya asshole!"

Grimmjow chuckled. "Well if you were gonna offer me some anyway, as far as I'm concerned, I just saved time by cutting out the middleman."

At this point Matt was fuming, he had a vein throbbing in his forehead like when Toshiro was pissed off, and was ready to jump on the arrancar and strangle him. It wouldn't have done much, considering neither arrancer nor Soul Reapers had to breathe, but it was still tempting.

After grabbed the said arrancar by his collar, he dragged him into his living room after Uryu and Chad.

"So, what exactly is our next move? I seriously doubt we'll be getting help from the Soul Society, and we don't have any leads as far as I know," said Uryu.

"I do, and as soon as everyone gets here, I'll let you all in on it," said Matt, taking a seat next to Koshino.

"So what the hell are we gonna do 'till then!?" yelled Grimmjow.

"Wait," Matt shot back sternly.

The group did just that, they waited. Grimmjow flipped through the TV, Uryu explored his parents book collection, Chad was...being Chad, Holly was reading a magazine, and Koshino fell asleep. She didn't get much sleep the night before, seeing Ira again shook her up worse than he thought, though she tried to hide it. She was snoozing softly on his shoulder, and he laughed in his mind at how a situation like this would have gotten him so worked up just a few days ago, but now that he and her had everything out in the open between them, it almost felt natural.

He guess that what Holly said was true, everyone did seem to already know, because no one seemed to find it odd at all. Not even when he had his arm around her shoulder stroking her hair as she slept. If anything, it seemed to lift everyone's mood.

He'd gotten so comfortable though, that he almost didn't feel Ichigo, Nathan, and Toshiro's spiritual pressures. Though it confused him when he felt a fourth pressure with them, which confused him. He got up slowly so not to wake up Koshino, and set her down lightly on the cushion. He opened the front door just as the bell rang.

On the other side was his orange hair teacher, his red headed best friend, and the silver haired captain. The fourth member of their little party had yet to be revealed when suddenly a black haired, violet eyed blur shot out between Nathan and Ichigo. In a matter of seconds Matt was being crushed under the strong arms of Rukia Kuchiki.

"Matt, it's great to see you again!" she said happily.

"Why...do you insist...on c-crushing me," he wheezed.

She pulled away from him, allowing him to breathe deeply. "Oh, don't be such a wimp."

The four of them moved into his house as he leaned against the wall trying to regain his composure. After a quick session of recuperation, he joined them all back in the living room.

Uryu was the first to speak. "So Matt, you said you had a new lead?"

He nodded.

"Well...lay it on us," said Ichigo.

He sighed. "Alright, but this is gonna sound a little ridiculous, so try and bear with me."

* * *

The next hour consisted of his explanation of what Ira had told him the night before, answering questions, and clearing up details. He was correct in his assumption that they weren't exactly thrilled to have one of the enemy working with us. On top of that, having the situation rely almost solely on said enemy was just the disgusting icing on the shit-cake.

"I don't like this Matt, there's so much that could, and probably will, go wrong," said Ichigo.

"I know, but I seriously doubt we'll get a chance like this again; Ira's the kind of guy who constantly changes alliances...kinda like Grimmjow."

"Hey, shove it!" he shouted.

"Plus, I honestly believe he wants these guys dead as much as we do, and regardless of what his intentions are after this is over, we can't let Astaroth finish what he's doing. It would be the end of the world, and probably the Soul Society as well."

Nathan sighed. "He's right, the second he's done here, he'd attack the Soul Society. The Soul Reapers are the only ones who could possibly stop him. Once we're gone, the entire material plain would be his, and there's nothing anyone could do about it."

"I tend to agree. Plus, I've read about angels and demons almost all my life, now I get a chance to thwart an invasion from Hell, I'll take it no matter who I have to work with," chimed in Holly.

Ichigo put up his hands to calm everyone down. "Alright, alright, I hear you. I might not like it, but it looks like it's our only option. The Soul Society sure as hell isn't gonna do anything about this, so I guess it's up to us."

"That's good to hear," said a new voice. One that Matt recognized as Ira's.

The dark particles that usually appeared when he disappeared into the air, were actually flying _into _his house and piecing together his body. In a matter of seconds, the small globs of darkness melded together to form the one armed avatar of wrath.

"Well, I see you took the liberty of explaining everything Matt. I can't say I'm not glad, I wasn't exactly looking forward to explaining all of this again."

"Yeah well, I just didn't want to waste any time."

He nodded. "Well then, I'll let you in on what's gonna go down."

Everyone leaned forward to listen to every word the man had to say.

"First off, when you all first arrive at their base, it's gonna be heavily defended with spiritual barriers and hordes of Hellspawn Hollows. Now, I can't do anything about the Hollows, they'll attack automatically, but I can open up the barriers for you and let you inside. I'm not exactly in those guy's good graces anymore, but I can still get inside and open the barriers from within; fighting your way though shouldn't be too hard," he explained.

"Next up, we'll need to leave a few people behind to hold off the Hollows, those barriers won't hold that many for long. The ones of us that are left will split up and engage the remaining four members of the original seven. While you're doing that, Matt and I will take on Astaroth, between the two of us, we should be able to beat him."

"Finally, once he's dead, I'll close off the portal and seal the cavern, and that'll be the end of it," he finished.

Ichigo nodded. "Sounds like a good enough plan."

"I have one question though," said Holly, "where exactly _is_ the base?"

"Well, their base is here in Seattle, but the portal isn't even on this continent."

"So how do we get there?" asked Matt.

"There should be a pathway similar to a senkaimon that will lead straight to it. The portal itself is in a little place called Stonehenge," Ira explained. (A/N: Yes, that is really what I think it's for. You laugh now, but just wait. When the the apocalypse comes, you'll be apologizing to me before you die!)

"We need to do this soon, so I've marked the location of the base on this map. Come to that location at exactly five o'clock tomorrow, that's when I'll be on the inside to open the barriers. Take today to make whatever preparations you need; I'll need some time, that's for sure."

They all nodded in confirmation.

"Right then, until tomorrow."

With that, he dissipated back into the air in a similar fashion as he arrived. Just as quickly as he showed up, he was gone as the last small particle slipped right through the wall.

* * *

Once Ira was finished with his explanation and everyone was agreed that this was the course of actions they were going to take, everyone went off to take care of any last minute business. Uryu, Chad, and Grimmjow headed back to the hotel, Holly went back to her house, and the rest of the group stayed with Matt, as they didn't really have anywhere else to stay.

So here they were, the sun had gone under the horizon just a few hours ago. It was around ten o'clock at night and Matt couldn't sleep. Ichigo, Nathan, and Toshiro were all sleeping in his living room, easily able to avoid bumping into his parents who'd gone to bed about an hour ago. He was laying in his bed with Koshino laying on the floor right next to him. He was blankly staring at the ceiling, trying not to think about anything, but thinking about everything despite his wishes.

He sat up and sighed, rubbing his eyes in frustration.

"You can't sleep either?" asked Koshino.

He looked shook his head. "No...to nervous."

She sat up as well and took a seat next to him. She lifted her hand and touched his cheek, turning his head to face her.

"Listen Matt, you're the strongest person I know. You won't fail tomorrow because you care too much. Too much about your family, friends, everyone; you'd never let anyone you love down," she said, squeezing his hand.

"As long as _you_ promise to stay safe, I'll be fine," he said, laughing with a hint of nervousness still in his voice.

"Of course, I care about _you_ too much."

He smiled, suddenly feeling much better, and much more tired. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss, then layed back down.

"Thanks Koshino."

"Of course. Good night Matt."

"Yeah, 'night."

With that, he rolled over and finally let sleep take him.

* * *

**As I said in the beginning, this was a _veeeeeery_ boring chapter. Not my worst, but definitely my most boring.** **Also as I said though, it was really only here to give you a basic overview of what's gonna be happening in the next few chapters, and to fill in the time gap that normally would have been there. I don't like big time gaps, there've been enough in this story already.**

**Anywho, there'll be much better chapters to come, so sit tight. The next one is about a day or two away, I'm just good like that.**

**Now review damn it! REVIEW OR DIE!! (I swear to God I'll cut you!)**


	11. Chapter 11: The Gates of Death

Guardian Angel II

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 11

**The Gates of Death**

**Disclaimer: **Why the hell do I even put these things here anymore?

Alright, I want say something to every reader out there. I'm pretty disappointed in you all. I have to say that this is the least amount of reviews I've ever gotten...ever. I'm not asking for much; all I want is for a few kind readers to take all of** two minutes** out of their free time to put down their thoughts in a review. But _NOOOOOOOOOOOOO_! Apparently I'm not worthy of your time!

At this point, I don't care if you tell me my story sucked, at least it's feedback! All I'm asking for is for someone to tell me what they think, I'm one of the few souls on the Internet who actually _cares_ what you think, are you really going to pass me by? I won't yell at you like a retarded twelve year old if you tell me something negative, I'll try and fix it, that's what a good author does, he/she listens to his/her readers opinions! I can't do that though, if no one is TELLING ME ANYTHING DAMN IT!

(Note: HistugayaToshiro96 and Human.Vizard are off the hook because they had been restricted from their computers for quite a while, and as far as I know, still are. Also, a big thank you to all those who actually took the time to review already.)

Just read the damn chapter.

* * *

"So…this is it huh?" said Matt.

The group was overlooking a deserted plain on one of the many islands outside of Elliot bay. Most of the island was either inhabited by towns, or covered in forest, but for the next two miles, or more, all Matt could see was flat land and rigid cliff-side that seemed to have nothing there. Matt knew from personal experience though, that the barriers could appear like any sort of surface.

"Yeah, I guess it is," said Koshino.

Their group of ten was waiting just inside the tree-line. They were all fidgeting nervously; the ones that had watches eyed them constantly. They all knew that the second they stepped foot into that clearing, the Hollows would come at them with full force. They were determined to spend as little time as possible out in the open and head straight into the base.

It was currently 4:58, only two more minutes and then they'd make their run. He surveyed the rest of the group. Holly was eagerly punching the air, loosening up her limbs. Chad seemed to be asleep, or just really quiet. Grimmjow and Ichigo were arguing over something stupid as usual. Rukia was massaging her temples, trying to combat the constant noise. Toshiro was meditating or something. Nathan was warming up as well. Uryu was reading a book that he'd taken from his house. Finally, Koshino was sitting by him as always, enjoying the last few moments of silence.

"Just remember, don't do anything stupid. I like you best in one piece," she said, leaning on his shoulder.

"You're not the only one."

He turned his head when he heard some rustling, and saw Ichigo stand up and brush off his robes. Once everyone saw that he hadn risen, they all followed suit.

"Alright guys, this is it. Get ready, we've got about thirty seconds," he announced.

They all nodded and got ready. Everyone drew their weapons if they had them, Holly cracked her knuckles, and Chad activated his armored arm. They all stood on the very edge of the tree-line, just waiting for the alarm to go off. For a moment, everything seemed to stand still; there was no wind, no animals, no rustling leaves in the trees. Everything stood still, as if the entire world were waiting for them to make a move before resuming its motion.

Then the alarm beeped.

They all kicked off at top speed, hoping to make the two mile -or more- run before the Hollows showed up to stop them. That wish was soon crushed though, as the familiar black skeletal figures materialized out of the ground and brandished their scythes. It wasn't the actual creatures that fill Matt with fear, it was their numbers. There were easily a thousand of them, probably more.

He was so filled with anxiety, that when he made his first slash into one of the Hollows, he thought he might throw up from the sheer force of the adrenaline. He and Ichigo were the first to hit the massive army of Hellspawns and together they cut a huge swath through their numbers with their large swords. Meanwhile, Grimmjow and Toshiro were behind them, cleaning up whatever they missed. Uryu had jumped into the air and was raining his arrows down, covering their rear.

Koshino, Holly, Chad, Rukia, and Nathan were all in the center of the group, providing assistance when they could. Rukia freezing the occasional enemy, Koshino had already shot quiet a few that had broken their lines, Nathan could cut down a few at a time by just sticking his Naginata outside the group perimeter. Unfortunately, Chad and Holly were close range fighters and couldn't do much in terms of attacking, but they even managed to take down two or three when time permitted.

Matt was slowly getting frustrated, there didn't seem to be and end to these bastards. Everytime he'd slice one down, there seemed to be two more in front of him. He was tempted to activate his Shikai, but decided against it for two reasons. One, it would simply take too much time, and two, he needed as much energy as he could save for Astaroth. Even with Ira helping him, he'd need every advantage possible.

He continued to slice his way through the hordes of Hollows in front of him. His blade and his clothes were already soaking in blood, and the smell was sickening. There wasn't even any need for accurate attacks or complex forms, the Hollows were so tightly packed together it was more of a challenge _not_ to hit them. They had nicked him a few times on the shoulder and thigh with their scythes, but overall they didn't do much damage. As far as he could tell, everyone was holding up fine so far.

They'd just past the first mile mark, they were half way there. They all had suffered a few more minor injuries, but they were still going strong. He wasn't sure how many they'd killed already, but it wasn't exactly on the top of his list of thoughts at the moment. He had one objective and one objective only, to fight his way though to the other side with everyone in one piece.

Matt's arms were starting to burn from the constant stream of attacks he was forced to throw out. Sweat was dripping down his forehead and he almost tripped three times now. He was being weighed down by the force of the momentum that he constantly slammed into the Hollows with, and the blood that was so saturating his clothes that it felt like he had another ten pounds added onto him.

He chanced a look around his shoulder, Ichigo was fairing equally as well, with blood covering most of his clothes and face. Toshiro and Grimmjow were both in similar conditions, but on a slightly less messy scale. The rest of the group looked to be doing fine, still keeping their movements fluid and wiping out as many as they could manage without slowing. He noticed Uryu was still firing his arrows backwards, cutting down the Hollows trying to get at them from behind. His hand was bleeding from the constant firing.

He turned his head back around and faced forward again, only to have to dig his feet into the ground to avoid smacking into the cliff-side. The entire group had finally made it to the other side, now it was up to Ira to open the barrier from the inside. He looked back at the Hollows; there were still hundreds of them out there, all of them converging on them.

He hefted Gabriel again, ready to fight off the rest of them if Ira didn't open the barrier soon. Luckily he didn't have to live through that scenario as he heard the barrier lift behind him, and he eagerly jumped backwards to escape the approaching hordes.

Once everyone made it inside, the rock re-appeared, closing off the threat for the moment. He looked around, and saw the red headed avatar of wrath standing their hefting a scythe of his own. His was much larger than the Hellspawns' though, and his had a silver blade instead of the Hollows black one.

"About time you showed. I take it everything went okay?"

"Oh...yeah, it was...fine...just some...scrapes and...bruises," panted Matt.

"Good, let's get moving then," he said sternly.

"Right then; Uryu, Grimmjow, Chad, Rukai, Nathan, stay here and cover the entryway, those barriers wont hold the Hollows long and this is our only escape route!" shouted Ichigo.

"Got it!" said Nathan.

"Everyone else, let's move!" ordered Matt.

The rest of the group moved out into the base, and Matt couldn't help but notice it looked similar to the base Koshino had been taken to. He was currently right behind Ira, who was in the lead; Ichigo caught up with him.

"So Matt, you infiltrated a base like this before, what are the defenses we can expect?" he asked.

"Actually, the base I got into didn't have any. The only opposition I met were the two people who actually lived there, and they weren't all that strong."

"That's because they were meant to fight as a team," interjected Ira.

"Huh?"

"Invidia and Averatia; they were sisters and meant to fight as a team, not individually. The rest of them are gonna be way stronger than the two you fought. They're easily captain level," he warned.

"Well so are we so it balances out," said Matt.

"To answer you previous question though, there is one defense mechanism this base has," continued Ira.

"What exactly is it?" asked Toshiro.

"Well, once we get reach the other side of this door, you'll see," he said, jumping into the air.

He leaped at the two large doors that stood in front of them. With one strong kick, he blew both of them off their hinges and across the room. The main hall of this base was much darker than that of the last one Matt had been to. Instead of gold and silver, there was nothing but rock and torches. Their were statues of demons and angels doing battle, and symbols of which Matt could only guess at their meaning.

At the other end of the room though, there were five different pathways, each leading in different directions. They stopped in front of said pathways and everyone looked at Ira.

"That's the defensive measure I was talking about. These pathways are automatically created when an unauthorized entry is detected in the base. Only one of them is going to go where we want, we need to spit up if we want to make sure we make it to the portal," said Ira.

"What'll happen to the rest of us who picks the wrong one?" asked Ichigo.

Ira shrugged. "Beats me, I've never actually seen these pathways in action so I don't know. I say we just suck it up and kick whatever asses get in our way."

"Works for me," agreed Matt.

"I'll stick with Matt, on the off chance we run into Astaroth, I'll need his help to kill him and shut down the portal."

"Agreed," nodded Ichigo.

Koshino approached Matt and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Remember what I said, I like you best in one piece," she said.

"I remember, jeez. Three days and you're already nagging me," he joked as he ran down the pathway with Ira.

With that, she ran down the next pathway over, Ichigo, Toshiro, and Holly taking their own paths.

* * *

Ichigo ran down his own pathway with only torches every few feet to guide his way. He clutched Zangetsu's hilt until his knuckles were white and he thought they might bleed. His heart was racing and he hoped that Matt and Ira got the right pathway, it wouldn't do any good he found the portal. He couldn't do anything to destroy it, he wouldn't even begin to know how, other than constantly attack it.

The path suddenly curved and he thought he saw a light at the end of the tunnel. He went through the light and suddenly found himself in a large room, not quite as large as the main hall, but still large. It was the same rock as always, with the same torches, but the walls weren't quite as bare. Their were many paintings, but they were all of the same person. It was a man, maybe his mid-twenties. He had short, bright blond hair that spiked like their was an entire bottles worth of gel in it. His eyes were bright blue and his face seemed to have absolutely no imperfections on it, it was like he was made to look perfect in every way.

"Beautiful aren't they," said a voice that seemed to come from every direction. It was a hypnotising sound that made Ichigo want to laugh out-loud, but he could sense the malice and blood-lust behind it, and that kept him in line.

"I've had artists from across the globe formulate my person in all forms of painting, but none of them can seem to capture its true magnificent," it said.

Ichigo suddenly felt a spiritual pressure making its way slowly to the ground. He looked up and saw the same man as in the paintings float gently down the ground. His arms crossed and what looked like a black rose in each hand. As his feet touched the ground, the floor shook and the walls cracked as his pressure contacted the rock.

"I assume you're one of the intruders who so rudely interloped upon our fair home?"

"That's me; interloping and intruding are two of my specialties. I'm just a jerk like that," he said, hefting Zangetsu.

"So eager to fight are you? You mortals, heh, always so violent, always so eager to take lives," he mocked.

"Spare me the philosophy lesson, let's just get this over with so I can go home."

He smirked. "Very well, I suppose I can indulge you in your barbaric pleasure."

He rose both his hands and swung them both down violently. From the two roses protruded two black, rose vine whips. They were barbed with small spikes along its lengths that gleamed like diamonds and reminded him of the luster that Tensa Zangetsu held when it was held up to the sun.

"Marvelous aren't they; my weapons are just as beautiful as I am, and just a deadly. Prepare you simpleton, for your death by the hands of I, Superbia," he said calmly and confidently.

"We'll see," Ichigo grunted.

* * *

Holly to was now just entering a new room as well. What she entered though, wouldn't exactly be considered a room, it was more like a pigsty. There were clothes strewn everywhere, garbage littered the floor, and old food seemed to be molding over in the corner. It looked like Matt's room on a bad day.

The smell was horrendous and she had to plug her nose to keep from throwing up. The air in there was enough to make her gag.

"Oh damn it, not you again," she head a voice groan. After thinking for a second, she remembered were she had heard that voice before.

"Acedia? Is that you?"

"Well, at least you remember me. I guess that's something."

He hopped up from his bed, or what she assumed to be a bed, seeing as there was too much clothing and old food on top of it to accurately identify it as anything other than a dumpster.

"So, is there any chance that you could just leave so I can sleep?" he said, lazily cleaning out his ear.

"Nope."

He sighed and cracked his neck. "Damn, I hate invasions. Alright, let's get this done with," he groaned again.

He quickly slipped on his tonfa onto his arms and slid into a low fighting stance. Holly got into her own martial arts stance, activating her precognitive abilities. She could already see what he was going to do, almost like a ghostly after-image, and knew what she would do the second he moved, and how to hit him.

"Bring it on," she said confidently.

* * *

Toshiro was next to face down his opponent, which was residing in a room that seemed to have massive amounts of food in it. There were dozens of trays with nothing but fruits and meats and desserts piled high into the air. In the center of all this culinary chaos was a plump man with a black goatee and thinning black hair. He was sitting at a small table with more large amounts of food piled in front of him. He wiped his mouth with a white napkin and stood.

"Hello there small-fry."

That familiar series of veins popped out of the captains head instantly.

"What...did you call me?" he growled.

"Heh heh, come small-fry, I have eaten and am ready to fight. I always have room for more though," he chuckled.

Toshiro drew Hyōrinmaru and brought it to bare, clutching the hilt tightly. He eyed the man fiercly, as if trying to pierce his body with his eyes.

"I'm ready," growled Toshiro.

"I surely hope so. I am Gula, and I shall devour you."

Toshiro scowled even deeper and gripped Hyōrinmaru tighter. He dug his feet into the ground and prepared himself to lunge and any moments notice.

* * *

Lastly, Koshino exited the pathway she was running down, and entered a large room like the rest. This one seemed abnormally dark, even for the rest of the base. She looked around the room; there were a large amount of...inappropriate magazines scattered around. (One guess as to who this is.) She suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. She felt a spiritual pressure to, one that was just as...inappropriate as the room.

"Well, well, what have we here?"

Koshino looked harder into the dark, only to see a figure emerge from it. It was a woman in what looked like some sort of laced leather apparel. She walked with a stride that seemed to be able to seduce anyone in the room.

"Oh, so disappointing. I was hoping for one of those cute boys in the group. Instead I get some homely girl. Oh well, I suppose it'll just make it that much easier to kill you," she said slyly.

"Who are you?" she asked determinedly.

"Who, me?" she asked with a fake sound of innocence.

"Why, I'm Luxuria. I assume you're that Koshino girl, the one Matt likes."

Her eyes widened. "How did you know who I am?"

She let out a giggle. "We all know a lot of things."

"What I can't understand is why such a handsome guy would fall for such a pathetic girl like you," she shot.

"Maybe it's because he honestly likes me!"

She giggled again. "Please, if there's one thing I've learned by watching mortals, it's that relationships aren't based around emotion anymore, it's all about the sex."

"Well I don't believe that! Not Matt, he's too good of a person!"

"Don't worry, if by some miracle you survive this fight, you'll see. The second you put out, he'll leave you high and dry," she sneered.

She drew her zanpakuto and held it tight in her hands.

"I'm done listening to you, now come on!"

"Heh, I like you girly, you're feisty. There might be some hope for you yet."

* * *

While everyone was facing down their respective opponents, Matt and Ira had found their way to a large set of doors like the ones that led to the main hall. They could both sense the massive spiritual pressure on the other side, and the pure evil and hate that was coming from that pressure.

"Looks like we chose right," said Matt.

"Yup, and Astaroth is on the other side, you ready?"

Suddenly Matt sneezed violently. He regained his composure and sniffled as he wiped his nose.

"Heh, someone must be talking about me," he laughed.

"Whatever, let's just get on with this," he growled.

He nodded. They pulled back their fists and threw them forward, punching the doors in and causing a large _bang _to ring out. There in that room were seven thrones in front of one larger throne looking over the other seven. Atop that throne sat Astaroth, calmly relaxed with his legs crossed and his chin resting on his palm.

"Matt, so good to see you again, I do hope your injuries didn't cause you too much discomfort."

"Shut it you bastard! Just get down here so I can kill your sorry ass!" shouted Ira.

He laughed to himself. "Ira, I didn't see you there. How have you been doing?"

"Quit stalling Astaroth, get the fuck down here and die!" He sighed and jumped down, landing gracefully on his feet in front of him.

"Well, I think that, since you're about to die, you should at least see the face of your killer," he laughed.

With that he grasped his hood and threw it down, revealing his face. What Matt saw, he couldn't even begin to explain, let alone accept.

"But...how can you...what are you?" he stuttered.

The face staring back at Matts was...

* * *

**OH SHIT! Yeah, that's right, I'm leaving it as a cliffy, I'm just a bastard like that! So, any guesses on who Astaroth possessed? You won't be able to guess it, that I guarantee, but you're welcome to try.**

**Next chapter will begin the four part mini-arc, the individual fights between the group and their respective enemies. Should be fun, no?**

**Review, please. As I stated above, ITS NOT THAT HARD!**


	12. Chapter 12: Battle Royal part 1

Guardian Angel II

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 12

**Battle Royal Part 1**

**Ichigo vs Superbia**

**Disclaimer: **Bleach, mine it is not!

Why hello there everyone! I have some good news; someone was kind enough to actually review yesterday! I thank Arthur Reinhart for taking it upon himself to review. I bow to you sir, and thank you from the bottom of my cold, dead heart. As a reward, this chapter is officially dedicated to you my friend.

Anyway, we have a big twist as I wrap up the cliffy I left last chapter, then we get to watch Ichigo and Superbia beat each other's faces in for the vast majority of the chapter. How's that sound, does it sound delicious? I hope so, because that's what you're getting, and you're gonna like it!

* * *

**_Previously:_**

**_"Well, I think that, since you're about to die, you should at least see the face of your killer," he laughed._**

**_With that he grasped his hood and threw it down, revealing his face. What Matt saw, he couldn't even begin to explain, let alone accept._**

**_"But...how can you...what are you?" he stuttered._**

**_The face staring back at Matts was..._**

* * *

…his own.

Matt was staring back at what seemed to be his own reflection. Standing in front of him was a complete mirror image of him in every way; the hair, the eyes, the face, it was all there. There was something different though, he had a sneer on his face, a sickening smile that he'd never seen on a living being before. It was almost like he found amusement in this whole situation, like he found the fact that they intended to kill, funny.

"What…the hell?" Matt stuttered.

"Interested in the form I took, eh?" he laughed.

"Me…you look just…like me."

He laughed again; it was evident that he derived much satisfaction from Matts confusion.

"Well, let me shed some light on your confusion, child!"

"You see, when I first came to this world a year ago, I needed a body, but I couldn't simply take any old host; that would attract too much attention. So I took a body that was already devoid of a soul, and yours was the only one that was still habitable in the immediate area."

Matt couldn't process all this at once. A demon had taken over his dead body and now he had to fight against it? What the hell was going on, how was any of this possible? In his state of shock though, a pang of irony hit him, and it caused him to laugh out loud. Astaroth and Ira looked at him like _he_ was mad.

"What is it that you find humorous, boy?" he growled.

"I was just thinking; when I kill you, don't ya think that me killing you in my body would be considered some sort of complex form of suicide?" he laughed.

Astaroth ignored his joke and instead looked into the distance like he was focusing on some far off object. Matt could sense it to, and abandoned his laughter. He felt his friends, they were all fighting. He could sense eight high spiritual pressures in the immediate area and another five in the distance along with hundreds of smaller ones.

"Do you feel it, your friends are fighting elsewhere? I honestly wonder…who will win?"

Matt couldn't help but wonder the same thing.

* * *

'_Damn it, he's fast!'_

**"Getsuga Tensho!"** he shouted.

The blue wave of spiritual energy flow toward the whip wielding avatar. He swung both his black rose whips into the blade and it instantly dissipated, dispersed by the whips spiritual pressure. With a flick of his wrists, the whips reversed direction and came flying towards Ichigo. He quickly rolled to the side, letting the whips crash into the ground and shatter the rock. He jumped up and landed on top of one of the whips and began running along the length of the weapon, heading straight for his opponent.

The second whip came at him from the side. He jumped up again, landed on the second whip, jumped a third time, and landed the ground next to Superbia. He moved to swing at him, but he was able to counter with his whips again, blocking the attack.

Superbia jumped high into the air and planted his feet on the ceiling.

"Die, mortal!" he shouted.

He pushed off again, bringing his whips down in a slam. Ichigo raised Zangetsu and blocked the attack with the broad side of the sword. The ground underneath him cracked and broke apart from the strain and Ichigo was having trouble holding him off. While he was busy holding off his aerial attack, Superbia's second whip slid to the side and came around again and struck Ichigo in the side. He felt the barbs of the whip bite into his skin and he slid back from the blow.

Despite the biting blow, Ichigo slid his hand onto the whip that he deflected with Zangetsu and gripped it tightly. His hands began bleeding from grabbing the barbs so hard, but he ignored the sting and pulled the whip hard towards him. The tug forced Superbia out of the air and instead sent him rocketing towards Ichigo. When he was within striking distance, Ichigo struck him in the head with the end of the hilt of Zangetsu, blowing him through a pillar and into a wall.

"Ha, take that pretty boy!" he shouted victoriously.

He took the time to rip off a bit of Zangetsu's cloth and dress his wounded hand, staving off the bleeding for the time being. Out of no where though, Superbia's two whips flew out of the plume of smoke that surrounded his impact crater and were trained on him. He lifted Zangetsu just in time to block them both, only to be forced back into the opposite wall, the two whips pushing against his sword with increasing pressure.

Above him, he could sense Superbia coming down at him. Them, right on que, a foot slammed down on his face, knocking his head into the wall. He pushed off and landed in from of him, pushing even harder with his whips, causing Zangetsu to crack and crumble.

'_Shit, at this rate I'll have to use Bankai sooner than I thought!'_

"YOU!" Superbia shouted.

"Me...what?" he said, still staving off his whips.

"YOU"VE DISECRATED MY FACE, MY BEAUTIFUL FACE!"

"Yeah, and?"

"YOUR DEATH WILL BE SLOW AND AGONIZING!"

"Yeah well, I've been told that more often than you'd think!" he shouted back, finally overpowering the whips and forcing Superbia back.

"I guess the time for holding back has passed. You should feel proud, not many people who've seen my Bankai are still alive, it's not often I ever use it anymore."

"Do your worst you worm!" he spat, his voice dripping with killer intent.

"**Bankai!**" Ichigo shouted.

The entire room was suddenly enveloped in a black and deep red reiatsu field as Ichigo unleashed his Bankai. The large crescent-cleaver that he wielded slowly compressed into the sleek black katana that made up Tensa Zangetsu. Once the transformation was complete, he wiped away the excess energies to clear his view. Superbia was still standing there with his smug expression, even as the blow that had been dealt to him earlier bled over his right eye.

Ichigo re-entered his fighting stance and prepared for the next part of the fight. Superbia though, just roared in laughter.

"What's so funny pretty boy?"

"Tha-that's your Bankai!? It's so puny and insignificant!" he laughed.

Ichigo sighed and dashed forward, which to any normal human would have been nothing more than a flicker of a movement, something on the verge of instantaneous transportation. A second later, Superbia's left whip fell to the ground, sliced clean in half.

"Still have a problem with it?"

He just stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Since you don't seem to get it, let me explain. My bankai is so small because it's so dense and compressed. Within this blade is the power of a hundred regular Zangetus, and as I and my blade fight along side each other, that power only grows. You shouldn't base your opinions solely on appearance," he explained.

"Humph, you act as if you're more powerful than me."

"It's not an act," Ichigo shot back.

"Even with my bankai activated, I'm still not fighting at my full capacity. If I were to fight you with my true strength, there would be nothing left, and that's just plain disrespectful."

He rose the black blade up and pointed the tip at his opponent.

"Come, if you have the courage."

Superbia returned to his sneering disposition and lunged at the substitute Soul Reaper. Ichigo easily shunpo'd out of the way of the strike and was on the other side of the room before Superbia even landed.

"Where the hell were you aiming?" he mocked.

"Why won't you just die!?" he shouted, swinging his whip again. The weapon slice straight through four pillars before swiping at Ichigo, only to have him dodge and shunpo right in front of the blond.

"peek-a-boo," he said calmly before slicing through Superia's torso. His blood sprayed out of him like a broken sprinkler and he staggered back.

"Ah, you bastard!" he shouted.

"You can't beat me, just give up and I'll finish it quick."

The blond only smiled and began snickering like a mad man. Even as the blood oozed out of his body and dripped into a puddle that was growing quite large quite fast.

"You spout your words of not judging about appearance, and yet you assume that I've been fighting to my full extent as well," he laughed.

Ichigo could feel it, his spiritual pressure was rising, and at an alarming rate. His spiritual aura was now visible; it was a deep velvety red, and it was amassing into quantities he'd only seen in himself, Matt, and Kenpachi.

"You really are...A HIPOCRIT, SOUL REAPER!"

His spiritual pressure suddenly exploded out of his body, enveloping everything in the room and disintegrating everything except that which was powerful enough to withstand it, which was pretty much just Ichigo. He looked on at Superbia, he had a maddening smile and a sickening gleam in his eyes. His whips were gone, and in their place were six tentacles sprouting from his forearms, three on each.

One on each side pierced deep into the ground, lifting him up into the air so that he was towering up over Ichigo.

"Come and get me Soul Reaper!" he yelled, his remaining four tentacles poised to attack.

Two of them came down on him and he quickly shunpo'd into the air, appearing in front of his blond opponent, only to have one the tentacles wrap around his foot before he could even move. He felt his body whip to the side and was slammed into a nearby wall, then again, then again. Then, after being slammed against it another five times, he was thrown across the room, landing on the ground in front of the pathway that led in and out of the room. At this point his head was bleeding and his arms were severely cut up as the rocks had cut through his sleeves, but he managed.

"There's the exit Soul Reaper! I'm a kind man, I'll let you escape if you want! I promise not to come after you!"

Ichigo could only laugh at the suggestion.

"Man, those tentacles of yours must be taking away from your brain-power, there's no way I'd back down from a fight. Especially now when it's just getting good!"

"**Getsuga Tensho!**" he shouted.

The black crescent wave of energy blasted forward towards Superbia. He rose his four tentacles to block the attack. As the energy dissipated, Ichigo appeared out of no where from behind its wake. He pushed off on of the tentacles and made his way straight for his target.

His left foot impacted against Superbia's face, and he heard a satisfying crack as the mans nose broke. He the twisted left and brought his right foot in contact with the side of his head, delivering another strong kick. The blows sent him stumbling, but he didn't topple over like Ichigo had hoped. Still, with him off guard, he was able to take advantage of the opening in his defense and slashed open his left shoulder, spraying more blood into the air.

He would have congratulated himself, except that right after he finished the attack, two of the tentacles came up from behind and pierced both his shoulders. They yanked down, slamming him into the ground, landing on the back of his head. They lifted him again, slamming him into the ceiling and holding him in place firmly.

He quickly slashed apart the two tentacles that held him in place and he fell to the ground. He landed with an unstable _thud_, but overall, he was okay. He pulled the two black tendrils out of his shoulders, breathing through clenched teeth as he bore the sudden pain.

Once he finally had them both out, he leaned on his blade for support. He felt a little dizzy, but was quick to regain his barrings when another tentacle came down at him. Fortunately he was able to shunpo away and out of danger. He slid back, stopped, jumped back into the air, and fired off another Getsuga Tensho. It was deflected by another of Superbia's tendrils, but it shattered from the force of the blast, leaving him with only five more, two of which were damaged.

Ichigo could also tell that Superbia was losing his focus. He'd lost much more blood than Ichigo had and was feeling its effects even now, as he had a dazed look on his face. Ichigo took advantage of his lack of attentiveness and rapidly shunpo'd towards him.

In a matter of seconds, he was directly in front of the blond and drove his blade home. The katana slipped right between two of his ribs, and Zangetsu completely pierced the mans body. Instantly, Superbia began to cough and drip blood out his mouth. Again though, Ichigo's victory was ruined when he saw the three remaining offensive tentacles that Superbia had left appear behind the mans back and thrust forward at Ichigo.

He pushed off of his chest violently and ripped the katana out of his side. He flew backwards to escape the tendrils, but they were too fast and before he knew it, all three of them bore through his torso. One went threw his stomach, another through his lower abdomen, and the third just barely missed his shoulder blade.

They went straight through him and drilled into the wall behind him. He struggled against them for a moment, but felt his body going numb a limb at a time. It wasn't long before his entire body went limp; he couldn't feel a thing. He had only one hope left to free himself and kill this jackass.

He forced all his strength to his right hand and raised it to his face. He felt his reiatsu begin to swell again, and so did Superbia, as his eyes went wide at what he was witnessing. Ichigo slowly formed together his mask, the white material piecing together before both their eyes. With a hard jerk of his arm, the mask flew down onto his face and activated his Hollow powers.

His lizard like mask filled him with a second wind of power, and he was at full strength again. He gripped Zangetsu tighter and lifted him up. He pointed the tip of the blade at Superbia, who was too shocked and confused to even move. The tip of his blade began to glow in a deep blood red aura, and reiatsu was gathering by the mass.

It condensed into a perfect sphere at the tip of the blade and caused the entire room to shadow over in a red glow. Superbia could feel it; the spiritual pressure coming off that central point on his blade alone was overwhelming, unearthly, completely unreal. Not only that, it has such an evil tint to it, evil he, up until now, had only felt around his lord Astaroth, and for the first time, he feared the man in front of him.

"It's been fun pretty boy, and you're not half bad, so now I'm not holding back," he said in a demonic voice that seemed to ripple in the air.

"Enjoy hell."

"Cero," he said calmly.

After he said that, the air in front of him exploded as the red beam from his sword swallowed the entirety of the room in front of him. It didn't matter where Superbia went, he couldn't escape the blast, he was boxed in...trapped. He backed into the wall, trying in vain to stave off the inevitable attack. His eyes widened in fear as the blood red torrent of the cero blast rocketed towards him with increasing speed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he screamed, just as he was enveloped in the blast.

He felt the energy rip at his skin, burning away his flesh and muscles. His bones dried and cracked from the heat until they too disintegrated into the cero. His screams could almost be heard over roar of the attack until the top of his head was wrenched off his jaw, ripping his head clean in half.

When the cero finally died out and flickered out of existence, there was nothing left of Superbia to mention. The tentacles that had pierced his body, disintegrated away and left him floating in the air for a second before his mask split in half vertically, and he fell to the ground. As he hit the floor, he clutched his sides and tired to cover his injuries as much as he could.

As his masks influence faded, so did his strength. He staggered back up and released his bankai, leaving Zangetsu to retake its giant cleaver form. He stood with the huge blade for support, and staggered out of the room. Using Zangetsu as a walking stick, he moved down the pathway.

He reached out with his spiritual senses to check on how everyone else was doing. He could sense them, and they were all pretty much on equal ground. He could feel them clashing, but Matt's nor Ira's seemed to be moving at all. He wondered what was going on with those two, but decided not to worry to much about it at the moment, at least they were alive. With that, he kept on his way back to the main hall where he could rest and recuperate.

Everything else was up to the rest of them.

* * *

**There we go, part 1/4 is complete! **

**Next up is Holly vs. Acedia, and let me tell you, if you thought that the twist at the beginning of this chapter was a shocker, just wait until you see what happens next chapter during the fight between Holly and Acedia. You won't see it coming, not by a mile.  
**

**I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up because my modem is being a bitch right now and I'm technically stealing my neighbors Internet. They don't know it, so I can't exactly stick around.**

**See ya on the flip side!**


	13. Chapter 13: Battle Royal part 2

Guardian Angel II

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 13

**Battle Royal part 2**

**Holly vs. Acedia**

**Disclaimer: **Anyone who thinks I own Bleach is retarded...seriously.

Okay, so this chapter will be continuing the four part mini-arc, and after that, we'll have about four more chapters, then we'll be done. so we have about six more chapters in total, not counting this one.

Some even better news is this, I have come to a decision as to what I will be doing after I finish this story. Let the world know: I AM MAKING A THIRD GUARDIAN ANGEL!! However, unlike this sequel, I won't work on it right away. Instead I'll be continuing my work on the Fateful XIII and it's prequel, Fateful XIII: Rewind.

Oh, one last special note! I feel I should tell you that Matt will be making a cameo appearance a few times in the story Fateful XIII. In fact, he'll be introduced along with Ichigo in the very next chapter! So check in on that story as well!

Let's get through this story first though. **Onward!**

* * *

Holly was fairing well enough against Acedia. He had her beat completely in terms of speed and strength, but thanks to her precognitive abilities, she could see his moves before he actually made them and was able to effectively dodge them and counter-attack. She'd had some close calls with those tonfa blades of his, and had a few nicks from them, and she was bleeding a little, but she was still able to move all her limbs quickly.

Acedia made a stab with his right tonfa blade which Holly dodged. She grabbed ahold of his arm and twirled him around until she was spinning him off the ground, then let go, sending him into a wall. She sharply tilted her head to the right. As she did, Acedia suddenly appeared in front of her, his blade over her shoulder, hanging in the air where her head had been a second ago. She took the opening and thrust forward her leg, landing a kick to his gut.

He was sent tumbling back again, rolling on his side before pushing himself back up. He spun his tonfas around in circles, then disappeared in a flash of movement. He slashed down at Holly from the air, which she sidestepped and avoided. He kept up his attacks and began rapidly stabbing at her with both his blades. She managed to dodge them, but it was extremely taxing on her abilities, it was like watching the movements happen twice, yet at the same time. She was already starting to get a headache.

She had to admit though, Yuroichi's training had helped big time. Her reaction time had doubled since training with her, and her strength had increased a great deal as well, and that was only four days worth of instruction. Needless to say, she had a great respect for the woman.

Acedia suddenly stabbed with both his blades, so fast Holly's foresight almost didn't catch it. Luckily it did, and she bent backwards so far she though her spine might snap. She avoided the attack though, and instinctively grabbed his arms as she fell backwards. She rolled on her back while her right foot planted itself on Acedia's stomach. Once she was nearing the end of her somersault, she pushed off with her foot, sending Acedia flying again.

She pushed herself up and shook off the aching in her back. Acedia stumbled back into the arena that was his room, looking a bit dizzy. He grabbed onto a pillar for support and breathed slowly to steady his heart.

"How are you…doing that?" he asked.

"Doing what?" she asked innocently.

"Avoiding all my attacks; I'm the fastest of the seven and no one can avoid my attacks. Not even your friend Matt, and he's leagues more powerful than you."  
She scoffed. "He may be stronger and faster, but I'm smarter, and I've got an advantage no one else can duplicate."

She pointed to her eyes and smirked.

"These babies. I have the ability to see a few seconds into the future; I know what moves you'll make before you actually make them."

"No kidding?" he panted.

"Nope; face it, you've got virtually zero chance of hitting me."

"Why are you guys always so much trouble?" he sighed to himself.

He began spinning his tonfas again, the blades rotating like buzz-saws in his hands. In a flash of movement, he was in front of Holly in less than a second. Of course she saw it coming, and slid to the side, dodging his first stab. He spun around and slashed at her with the opposite blade, which she ducked under. He slashed again with the same arm. She quickly stopped it with her left arm and delivered a quick jab to his side with her right fist. Acedia slid back, but held his ground.

He stood up straight and sighed, letting his arms hang limp and lazily.

"Damn it, you're just so annoying. I'm getting bored, so I'll finish this quick."

Holly laughed. "Finish this quick? You've barely touched me this entire fight!"

"Well I haven't been using my full strength, so..."

Holly's eyes widened. "You...haven't been fighting at full power?"

"Nope, it's usually to much of a hassle, but I'm getting tired of getting punched in the gut."

With that, he spread his legs wide and extended his hands out to either side as well. As he stood in that stance, Holly could sense his spiritual pressure rising at a frightening rate. Suddenly he let out an air piercing shout and his spiritual pressure exploded outward and rampaged through the stone floor and walls. She looked through the wayward energies and saw what had become of him. His eyes were now pupil-less, his expression was one of pure aggression, and his tonfa blades were now twice their original length, putting them at a full five feet each.

Holly dove to the side and Acedia suddenly flashed in front of her and slashed down with both his blades. He used the blades as pole-vaults and did a front flip, landing gracefully on his feet. He didn't waste any time, and rushed forward again, slashing madly. Holly's abilities were being pushed to the limit now. It was actually painful to predict is movements while he was moving so fast. She was still avoiding his attacks, but the mental stress was just as bad as if he were cutting her open; it felt like her skull was splitting open.

She pushed backwards with her feet as hard as she could so she could get some distance and relief. As soon as she did though, she saw that Acedia would move behind her and stab her, so she shifted her foot to the side as soon as she landed and flipped to the side, barely dodging the attack. She ducked under another stab and landed a light punch on his chest, which only served to push him pack a few feet and piss him off.

His speed was unreal, for someone who was the avatar of sloth, he moved incredibly fast. It was like he was in a berserk state where nothing could slow him.

Holly shifted to the side again and caught Acedia in an arm lock. Next she slid her foot forward and pushed, tripping him and knocking him to the ground. Finally, she brought her free fist down on his gut, forcing blood out his mouth. He didn't seem to slow from this though, as his left blade came down on her. She was able to dodge for the most part, the blade still nicked her cheek. The side of her face instantly went numb and her jaw slacked slightly.

Acedia just wouldn't let up though, in a matter of seconds he was on his feet again, resuming his frenzy of wild slashes and thrusts. Holly swore she was going to go insane if she was subject to this kind of mental stress for much longer; calculus was probably less mentally painful. She ducked under another slash, then another, then a third. The fourth caught her upper left arm, forcing it into a limp state. She swore under her breath, it was hard enough with all her limbs working, now she was down an arm.

She ducked extremely low, avoiding two slashes, and swept her feet in a wide arc, tripping him again. She elegantly flipped upward and landed on Acedia's gut again. He thrust both his blades upward, which Holly was barely able to pull her head back in time to dodge. She took this opportunity to grab ahold of his left blade by clamping onto it, not caring that her had went immediately numb. With a strong swift kick, the blade shattered into small metallic fragments.

To compensate for his lost weapon, he threw away the broken blade and instead, thrust his fist forward and nailed her lower chest. It wasn't too strong of an attack, but it served to knock her over.

So there she was, neither of her hands working, down on the floor, and her opponent still had one tonfa blade left to slice her up with. For a moment, she thought she was going to die, but then she spotted the shards of his broken tonfa and saw that the tip was still largely intact. He checked her sliced up hand; it was largely unusable, but she could still clench it into fist and the arm that was attached to it was still fully functional, and that was all she needed.

In a swift motion, she pushed off with her feet and working arm and somersaulted between Acedia's legs as he brought down his remaining blade. When she regained her balance, she reached over and forced her hands to come together, grasping the sharp tip. As Acedia turned around, she raised the deadly shard and charged him as well. She didn't bother dodging, and his blade pierced straight through her left shoulder. Her entire side went limp, but she was in range and thrust forward the broken off tip.

The blade sliced into his left shoulder as well, and his arm wend limp as well. When he realized what she had done, he yanked out his blade and tried to jump away, but Holly moved faster than him for that instant and was able to slash his forearm with the broken tip as well, disabling both his arms.

The two stood there for a few seconds, just breathing and staring each other down. Suddenly, Acedia took a deep breath, and exhaled just as heavily before dropping to his knees and finally onto his face. Holly was confused by his sudden fall and actually kneeled down next to him to inspect him.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"Blunt force trauma. Thanks to all those punches and kicks, I've been bleeding internally for quite a while now. Add onto that you paralyzing me with my own weapon, and I'm pretty much out of strength."

"So that's it, you're just giving up?" she asked incredulously.

"Pretty much. I'm too tired to keep fighting, I'm losing too much blood as it is," he said lackadaisically.

Holly leaned back and sat down next to him. For what reason she wasn't sure, but she was certain that he wasn't a threat anymore. They both sat there for a while, not saying anything, mostly because there wasn't much to say.

"We used to be human ya know," said Acedia suddenly.

"Hm?"

"Before Astaroth came along and granted us immortality, we used to be human."

Holly cocked an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Hell if I know. I guess I just felt like someone should know. We sure aren't gonna last much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"Superbia is already dead, Gula is on the ropes, and I think Luxuria is even getting a run for her money. Ira and Matt are facing off against Astaroth and once you all get there to help them, I doubt even he'll be able to win."

Holly didn't say anything, but was now curious as ever about the people they were fighting.

"So..what were you like before you got involved with Astaroth?"

He shrugged, or at least what she assumed was a shrug. "Eh, pretty much like I am now; lazy, undependable, irresponsible. At least...that's what my family always said about me."

"Not a good family relationship huh?"

"Nope, that's part of the reason I joined up with Astaroth. I thought maybe sticking with him...I could accomplish _something_ with my life. Even if that something happened to be the Apocalypse. Looking back on it now, I don't know what I was thinking," he laughed to himself.

She sat there for a bit, before an idea struck her.

"You still want to accomplish something?" she asked him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you said you joined Astaroth to accomplish something. Well, why don't you join us and help save the world instead."

He closed his eyes and hummed to himself, probably thinking things over. He opened his eyes back up and shrugged again.

"Why not. I guess it couldn't hurt. Besides, I don't think Hell would suite me," he joked.

"There's a vial in my dresser that has a special serum designed to counteract my tonfa's paralysis. Drink a little and you'll be fine. Then we can get going," he said, his head nudging toward a messy dresser.

She nodded and pushed herself up with her good arm. She walked up to the dresser and saw the vial hanging out of the top drawer. It took her almost a full minute to completely grasp it with her numbed out hand. She lifted it up and took a gulp of the serum, which actually didn't taste half bad. It was like a rush of cold peppermint running down her throat as she felt her arms fall back under her control. Not only that, but her wounds quickly patched themselves up as well.

She rushed over to Acedia and poured a fair amount of the liquid into his mouth which he swallowed quickly. Now was the moment of truth, Holly still had her small doubts about him, but as he got up and dusted himself off, he didn't make any move against her. He picked up his unbroken blade, which had reverted back to its normal size, and slid it into his belt. He wipped his hands and nodded, signaling her that he was ready to go.

"What about your internal bleeding?" she asked.

"The serum doubles as a healing agent, my bleeding isn't a problem anymore," he said in his usual lazy tone.

"Right, then let's get moving! We've got a world to save!" she shouted enthusaistically.

Acedia smiled and nodded. The two dashed out of the room and down the pathway back to the mainhall, hoping they got to Matt and Ira before the fight started.

* * *

**Okay, I know the fight was kinda short, but there's two reasons for that. One, we actually came in well after the battle already started, and two, because Acedia is the Avater of Sloth, so he really isn't motivated to do anything, so naturally the fight wouldn't last long anyway.**

**The good news is that we have another good guy on the roster now. Acedia is a personal favorite of mine because, other than Matt, he's the character that's most like me. I decided that he would be a good addition and he'd be useful in the third installment.**

**Anyway, next chapter is Toshiro vs Gula, which I'll have up...somtime.**

**Review and all such nonsense!**


	14. Chapter 14: Battle Royal part 3

**Guardian Angel II:**

**War of the Seven Sins**

Chapter 14

Battle Royal part 3

Toshiro vs. Gula

**Disclaimer:** ...No

Sorry it took so long for an update, trying to juggle two popular stories is kinda hard. I'm here though, and we're going to jump into the third volume of the four part Battle Royal mini-arc. Today we have Toshiro fighting his way past Gula, the avatar of Gluttony. After this, all we have left is Koshino and her bout against Luxuria. Then we have a chapter devoted the the rest of the group outside fighting against the army of Hellspawn Hollows, then finally its the fight between Astaroth and Matt/Ira. Then of course the epilogue.

As I've stated before, we won't be seeing a third installment for a while. I'll be focusing on finally finishing Fateful XIII and it's prequel. Not that I'll have forgotten you guys though; I'll be working on the third story in my free time in between. Who knows, depending on how fast/slow I get this story done, I might even throw in a Halloween special just for the hell of it.

**WARNING**: Before you guys go any further, you should know there are _(technically)_ references of cannibalism in this chapter. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.

For now though, just enjoy more of the violent Bleach goodness.

* * *

Gula wasn't a fast fighter, nor was he agile; in fact he was pretty much everything Toshiro wasn't. What Gula _was_ though, was strong, and durable. No matter how many attacks he threw at him, he didn't seem to be able to inflict more than shallow wounds that wouldn't even faze a common Hollow.

He learned early on that Hyōrinmaru wasn't much more effective in its shikai than in its sealed form. In fact it was less effective. Whenever he shot the ice-dragon at him, he actually enlarged his mouth and bit through the ice like candy. It was quite a unique ability, he not only seemed to be able to enlarge it to nearly any size, but he was strong enough to bite through his zanpakuto ice, rock, pretty much anything.

So as of the present, Toshiro was forced to resort to his bankai. Daiguren Hyōrinmaru was more effective; he was able to actually inflict injury on the hulk of a man now, but it was still difficult.

Toshiro was currently on the offensive, flying straight down at the large man, aiming to stab him. He thrust his blade forward, only to have it blocked as Gula clasped his palms down on either side of the sword, stopping it inches from his face. He shifted his grip and held the zanpakuto in his now balled hands, and swung the young Soul Reaper around and around until finally letting go and throwing him into a wall.

The wings on his back took most of the force of the blow, but the recoil was still painful. As he recovered, Gula leaped at him, his mouth in its enlarged form. Toshiro used shunpo to flee to the ground as Gula bite hard into the stone wall. He merely began chewing the hard rock as he turned to face the silver haired captain.

The titan of a man took in a deep breath. Toshiro began using shunpo wildly as Gula spat out the small rock fragments like one would shoot out watermelon seeds. The stone projectiles kicked up small plumes of dirt, resembling that of a trail of machine-gun rounds. Toshiro gave up his attempts at dodging them and instead, encased himself in his wings, deflecting the small flying rocks.

The impacts of the shots, however, began to erode the ice of his wings and crystallized fragments flew in every direction. When Gula finally ran out of "ammo", Toshiro's wings had dozens of small but gaping holes across its surface. He removed his wings from their shield position, and he regained his field of vision.

At the same time, Gula was coming down at the Soul Reaper, his fists raised. Toshiro leaped back, letting Gula's fists slam into the ground and shatter the stone he'd been standing on. Toshiro flew through the room and came around for a run at his opponent. As he closed in, Gula threw up his hands and caught Toshiro's wings, stopping him in mid-air.

With his enlarged jaw, he snapped at Toshiro in an attempt to crush his skull with his teeth. The silver haired captain avoided the attack though by bringing up his tail and blocking his teeth with it. The ice was all but crushed, but at least he was still alive.

He slashed upward with his blade, slicing at Gula's face. The man reeled back at the gash that started at his upper nose and ended at his forehead, and dribbled blood down his face. Toshiro meanwhile, jumped back to gain distance, and looked up to see how many more petals were left. He sighed when he was that he had just above half his total amount.

He turned his attention back to Gula when he saw that he had regained his barings. The monstrous man growled loudly as he grabbed ahold of one of the many stone columns that lined his room, and pulled with all his might. In a matter of seconds the rock gave way to his strength and he hefted it like a hammer ready to beat in a nail. Toshiro's eyes widened as he saw the column coming down on him. He flew off to the side as it crashed into the ground and sent dust and rock fragments everywhere.

It cracked, but amazingly enough, the column was still in one piece after the impact. Seeing this, Gula lifted it again and swung it in a horizontal arc, sweeping nearly the entire room. The virtual bat of stone slammed into Toshiro's back and slammed him into the wall.

As he was pinned there, he thought of the irony of actually being between a rock and a hard place. In fact, if not for his thick wings covering his back, the column probably would have crushed his spine. As it was though, he had his face firmly planted in the wall, even when Gula removed the stone column from his back. He felt a chunk of his wings fall to the ground with the release of the pressure.

Before he could escape from his rock prison, Gula took hold of the back of his head and tossed him like a ragdoll across the room. He crashed into the wall across the way, then hit the floor with a _thud_. He rose to one knee in a kneeling position, panting heavily, and watched Gula approach him with a victorious grin on his face.

He clapsed both his hands together and made one giant club-like fist and lifted it high above his head. Toshiro rolled to the side as it smashed into the ground where he had been. With his faster reflexes, he rolled onto his feet and leaped onto Gula's thick arm and delivered a swift but deep slash to his left shoulder, slicing straight through his shoulder blade. He then did a front flip, landed behind him and sliced upward, gashing through his lower back.

With that, he jumped back and waited for the lumbering giant to make his next move. Gula turned to face Toshiro, but the only thing on his face was a humorous smile. He laughed out loud, confusing the smaller captain.

"Ha, still have some fight in ya eh small fry?" he laughed.

Toshiro offered no response, but he felt that familiar vein begin to pop out again at being called 'small fry'; it was the same vein that popped with Matt called him Frosty or he heard snickering in the crowd whenever he gave speeches to his division.

"Heh, no matter, I'll still be eatin' ya. Course I love to tenderize meat before I eat it though," he said, practically drooling over himself.

'_This guy is sick! Does he _actually_ want to eat me!?'_ he thought frantically.

Gula began charging him and thrust forward a giant fist. Toshiro nimbly jumped over it, aiming to make another slash on his face, only to have Gula's other first slam into his side. He flew across the room, being propelled by the force of momentum created by the blow, and skidded across the floor until he came to a rocky stop.

He staggered up again, biting back the pain that was erupting from his arms and legs. He wasn't in a good state; his wings were all but shattered, his ice armor was losing stability as well, and his bankai was down to its last few petals. After they were gone, there wouldn't be anything he could do to stop Gula from ripping him limb from limb.

His only option left was to find some sort of weakness. He already knew that he was extremely durable, and exterior wounds didn't seem to faze him in the slightest, so how was he supposed to stop him? There was also the problem with his biting; he could just shatter straight through anything he threw at him, including his spiritually enhanced ice.

There didn't seem to be anyway to stop this juggernaut from where he was standing.

He didn't have much more time to think about it, as Gula was already withen striking distance of him. Toshiro dodged his first strike, which was a strong left hook, but he was too tired and worn out to stop him from taking hold of his head again. Gula raised him into the air -at least four feet- and grinned before tossing him like a child's toy across the room once more.

He ran face first into the wall, breaking his nose and possibly even cracking the front of his skull, then fell to the floor again. He lay there, staring up at the ceiling, his vision blurring both from the disorientation and the fact that blood was not flowing into his eyes and he had to blink the red plasma away. He looked up at Gula, who was now standing over him, not with a smile, but in fact a frown.

"Is this all ya have small fry?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

Toshiro didn't answer, not out of stubbornness, just that he was unable to.

He shook his head and sighed. "Then it looks like this is the end for you."

Toshiro was off somewhere else though, he was looking up at his few remaining petals hanging, almost tauntingly, above his head.

'_Two...that's all I have left. I'm dead.'_

He offered no resistance as Gula lifted him into the air again, holding him by the back of his head again. He could have sworn that he didn't feel a thing as he was continuously slammed into the wall. All he heard was the sickening_ thunks _as his skull collided with the stone again and again, almost in some sort of cruel rhythm.

He wasn't even focusing on that though, what he was focusing on was what was about to happen to him after this particular episode was done. He was going to be eaten alive by a gargantuan man who was going to most likely find the rest of his surviving friends who were probably just as weak as he was now.

Even in his dulled state he could feel everyone, in the building at least. Ichigo's was faint but stable, Holly's dipped for a while, but was now back to normal, and Koshino's was taking a beating as well, but she wasn't in his state yet. Matt's though, was unreadable to him, like there was something huge where he was that was overshadowing his power from everyone else.

He mentally shrugged, it wasn't like he was going to be around to see any of it.

He was brought back to reality somewhat when Gula lifted him again, and flipped him around in his giant hand to face him. He saw his mouth widen as his jaw enlarge, increasing in size until it was large enough to swallow a human, or Soul Reaper, whole.

'_The sick bastard, he's gonna make me watch.' _

He could already imagine sliding down that disgusting throat of his; he hoped he was dead before he reached his stomach.

Then it suddenly dawned on him. _'Wait..._exterior_ wounds don't hurt him...but what about _interior_ damage!'_

He had to work fast if he was gonna pull this off. He thanked whoever was up there that he still had the strength to hold onto Hyōrinmaru. He gathered as much reiatsu as he could possibly grab ahold of, using up the power of his last two petals; luckily that was all he'd need.

He raised Hyorinmaru to a stabbing position and grinned behind Gula's massive palm.

"Hey...before you eat me...how about an appetizer," he slipped out before he set his plan into motion.

He thrust his blade into Gula's mouth and used every last bit of power he had left to unleash a _Ryūsenka. _The ice erupted out of his blade and plunged into the titanic man's gaping mouth. The ice pierced straight through the soft tissue of the back of his mouth, not only stabbing through the back of his head, but shattering his spinal cord and important nerve endings at the base of his skull.

Gula had attempted to shut his mouth before the ice went in, but by the time his jaw slammed shut, the damage was done and his entire body went numb and limp before it completely shut down, which happened all in under a second. He died nearly instantly, but he left on last present for Toshiro before passing.

While his attempt to clamp his jaw shut was unsuccessful, it did succeed at one thing; biting through the young captains arm. The skin, muscle, and most of the bone was completely destroyed when Gula's teeth shut on it, which happened to be just above his elbow. Only a thin link of bone and a few strands of muscles held them together.

With a painful but necessary tug, he ripped the last of the muscle and bone apart, severing his right arm in two. He screamed at the pain, and a few stinging tears escaped as he clutched the wound as blood oozed out at an alarming rate. He sucked in breath through clenched teeth, while at the same time, trying to pry Gula's mouth back open to retrieve Hyorinmaru.

Without his other arm, it was a battle, but Gula's jaw was surprisingly easy to move in its larger state. He reached into the moist cave and tried not to vomit at the smell of a whole rainbow of smells emitting from his bowels. After digging his blade out of its prison of saliva and blood, he tumbled to the ground, grunting at the pain that shot up his back and his stump of an arm.

He staggered up again, using Hyorinmaru as a cane for support, he slowly and painfully stubled down the hallway that had gotten him here in the first place. His vision was blurring again, this time from the pain and the bloodloss, and he knew he'd have to dress the wound soon if he didn't want to die bleeding to death.

He preformed a patch job by ripping off a portion of his captains robe with his goob arm and his teeth, and wrapping it around the bleeding stump, but he knew it wouldn't hold for long. He just had to hope that the others would complete their jobs quickly, or that someone had found medical supplies somewhere. He was sure everyone would need some treatment after all this was over.

**

* * *

Oh yea...you by begin sending your praise/flames...now. Now whether you like this chapter or not, you have to admit that it was pretty epic, eh? Toshiro freakin' lost his arm killing a dude, that's pretty bad-ass if I do say so myself. Don't worry, he won't be a cripple though, Orihime's got that freaky Time Regression ability, remember? (Yes, she'll be showing up to.)**

**Oh, and you better have liked this chapter, because I wrote the damn thing with a killer migraine pounding in my head. So just remember that I suffered for you, the readers. (LOVE ME DAMN IT!)  
**

**Moving on: just remember to give the nice little lavender/blue...skyblue...robins egg blue...whatever color blue button a push and review!  
**


	15. Chapter 15: Battle Royal part 4

Guardian Angel II:

War of the Seven Sins

Chapter 15

**Battle Royal part 4**

**Koshino vs. Luxuria**

**Disclaimer: **Fa la la la la la, I no own Beach already.

Okay guys, sorry about the longer than usual wait. I had to go to my little cousins birthday party out of the blue yesterday, so I didn't get to work on it. She just turned five and couldn't have been more ecstatic.

Anyway, this chapter will conclude the Battle Royal arc, then we'll move onto a chapter focusing on the fighting outside, then it's the fight I know you're all waiting for; the final fight against Astaroth. Take these last few chapters in people, because after this story is over, you won't be seeing Matt for a while

(That is unless you also read Fateful XIII. He makes an appearance in the Bleach arc, and will be showing up in a few later chapters.)

Let's get rollin'!

* * *

The last battle to be concluded was Koshino's. Hers was difficult considering she didn't have the benefits of Bankai. Kontan Denka was her lifeline, and the battle had been pushing it to its limits. She was forced to grub for every last piece of reiatsu to fuel her attacks, so to use her own spirit energy for her shunpo and other movements.

Luxuria wasn't extraordinarily fast or agile, but she was flexible. She didn't need to outrun or flee from Koshino's attacks; she could just bend her body out of the way. Other than that, her weapon an extremely long silver katana; the blade was easily as long as her body. Koshino had her beat in range of attacks, but Luxuria always seemed to find a way past her defenses and got close enough to use the katana.

So far, she'd received a few shallow cuts along her right arm and torso. She'd been able to hit Luxuria with a few blows as well though, scorching her left side and arm.

She was in the air at the present, firing down a rapid set of spirit blasts, all of which Luxuria was nimbly able to twist over and under to avoid. Luxuria followed up by jumping onto the air and thrust her blade forward. Koshino caught the blade in her armored hand, and twisted in the air, remembering some of the hand-to-hand moves Matt had taught her, and tried to kick her in the head. Luxuria quickly brought up her free hand and caught her foot and they began fall to the ground.

Koshino broke her foot free and pulled her hand to the side, swinging Luxuria into the ground. Koshino landed on her feet, then immediately jumped away to a safe distance. Luxuria recovered quickly and charged her, fluidly sliding between the pair of spirit blasts that Koshino sent her way. She sliced through only the air, as Koshino ducked under the attack and pressed Kontan Denka against Luxuria's stomach.

"_Denka Houshutsu!_" she shouted.

Koshino unleashed all the spirit energy she had absorbed from the living things within range all in one burst. There weren't a lot of actual living things around, so it wasn't as powerful as she had hoped it would be, but it did its job and propelled Luxuria across the room.

Koshino continued to barrage the area where she had landed, blowing away the rock easily. When she ceased her bombardment, Luxuria emerged from the dusty plume with a smirk. She began charging Koshino, who continued firing off spirit blasts from her gauntlet. Luxuria used her clearly superior flexibility to twist out of the way of her shots, and sent a vertical slash at Koshino.

The brunette was quick enough to shunpo out of the way, and re-appeared in the air, behind Luxuria. She opened up on her while her back was turned, and landed a blast on her back before she cartwheeled away and leaped into the air after Koshino. She came at her so fast that she couldn't react in time to stop her from planting a foot on the side of her face, which sent her spiraling down into a wall.

She couldn't see for a second, but could feel Luxuria coming at her on the other side of the dust and debris. She shifted to to the right in time to avoid her blade, which lodged itself right against her cheek. Just as quickly as it was put there, Luxuria pulled her blade free and slashed horizontally, aiming to lop off Koshino's head. She ducked and somersaulted behind her, then quickly brought up her armored hand to block another horizontal slash aiming for the same area.

They both leaped back away from each other to gain distance they both required to fight effectively and took a moment to catch their breath. Koshino silently thanked whoever was watching out for her. She'd compared some of the other spiritual pressures to Luxuria, and found that she was the weakest of the three other pressures that felt similar to hers. In comparison to Soul Reaper standards, she was only about Lieutenant level in strength, while the others where either close to captain or even above.

Even so, Luxuria was a tough opponent for Koshino. (A/N: note that Koshino is only about...low seated officer level in strength at the moment, so a Lieutenant would be tough for her.) She was pulled from her thoughts though, when Luxuria began to attack her again. She frantically ducked and spun to avoid her lighting fast thrusts and slashes. She was caught off guard when she suddenly switched tactics and began attacking lower, aiming for her feet.

Her blade bit at the flesh just above her ankle, and she toppled over. She hit the ground and immedeatly rolled to the side, avoiding her katana as it drilled into the ground where she had landed. Koshino took the momentary opening and fired a pair of blasts from Kontan Denka, sending Luxuria flying back. Koshino rolled backwards and slid to her feet, waiting for Luxuria to make her next move.

The woman pushed herself up again, now with a stinging burn on her stomach. She was becoming extremely frustrated with her younger opponent. She was obviously stronger and faster than the girl, so why was she giving her so much trouble?

"Why...why are you fighting so hard?" she asked through clenched teeth.

"Because, I have people that I care about that I need to protect! I have friends who need my help, I can't just give up and let them down!" she retorted.

"Most importantly though...I want to live to prove you wrong!"

"Prove me wrong?"

"Yes, you said that Matt would only care about me for so long! I want to live to prove you wrong!" she shouted defiantly.

She pinched the bridge between her eyes and sighed. "You're hopelessly naive, you know that?"

"Oh well, it's not like it matters. You're gonna die anyway!"

Just like that, Luxuria started up the fight again. She began charging Koshino at top speed; her katana flashed, reflecting in the dim light of the room. Koshino jumped back to keep the distance, and fired off more spirit blasts to cover her escape. Luxuria twisted out of the way and dodged them all, gaining on the brunette no matter how hard she tried.

Before she knew it, Luxuria was in front of her, thrusting her katana forward. She leaned her head to the side, avoiding the fatal attack, but the blade instead found its way to the area where her right shoulder blade and neck met, slicing open the thin layer of flesh. She felt a sudden and sharp flash of pain as the katana moved downward, deepening the wound and slicing straight through her shoulder blade.

Luxuria followed the attack up by landing a roundhouse kick to Koshino's left cheek with the heel of her left foot. She was sent skidding across the room, the rock ripping through the sleeve of her right arm and tearing up her skin as well as getting a fair amount of dirt in her open wound, which stung.

The girl pushed herself up and stood firm with her right hand on her gauntlet to increase her accuracy as she fired and ran at the same time. It got the the point where she and Luxuria were running parallel to each other; Koshino firing blasts off like a machine gun, and Luxuria frantically blocking them. When they reached the halfway point of the room, they both leaped apart, then began charging each other.

Koshino got in a few lucky shots that singed Luxuria's arms, but for the most part she made her way unscathed. As they closed in on each other, Koshino unleashed another _Denka Houshutsu, _just as Luxuria thrust her katana at her.

The electric blue beam shot forward, only to be fractured apart as the tip of the katana collided with it. Out of the mass of crackling energy came Luxuria's blade, glowing in the sudden release of light from the gauntlet. Koshino watched it, almost in slow motion, as the sword pierced her upper chest. She felt the coldness of the metal slide against the warmth of her inner body.

It remained there for a few moments before it was pulled free of its organic holding place; then the blood ran free out of the wound. Koshino tripped forward and fell to her hands and knees as the red plasma dribbled out of her chest cavity. She clutched the wound, applying pressure in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it did little good.

Luxuria stood over her and placed her right foot on Koshino's back. She pressed down, forcing the girl to lay flat on her stomach save for the hand she still had over her wound.

The woman sighed. "Just look where this has all gotten you. Here I was, actually considering letting you leave with your life before you made that stupid little comment about proving me wrong."

"Oh well, that's what happens when you devote yourself to a guy, you always seem to get hurt in the end."

She took her foot off of Koshino's back and gripped her katana with both hands. She rose it high above her head, ready to make the final blow.

"Don't worry, I'll hit the spinal column, it'll be painless. I'm not completely heartless."

Koshino closed her eyes, a few tears seeping from her eyes. For the first few seconds, she was absolutly certain she was going to die, but then a voice popped into her head. One that was familiar to her.

**"Don't tell me you're giving up already?" **came Kontan's voice.

Koshino looked up; everything had stopped. Luxuria's blade was frozen in mid air, and nothing around her was moving, not even the air. The only thing that she caught site of was Kontan kneeling down in front of her, next to Luxuria.

"I...I can't. I want to...but I can't."

Kontan put on a pouty face and continued to playfully stare at her.

**"If you really wanted to win, then you'd get up."**

"I can't...I can't do it alone," she argued.

Kontan lightly tapped her head with her fist. **"Duh, that's why you have me silly. I woulda lent ya some power if you'd have just asked."**

Koshino smiled. "Would you mind if I borrowed some then?"

She nodded. **"Sure thing, let's get back out there and have some fun!"**

She happily extended her hand, which Koshino took with her free hand. Instantly she felt rejuvenated and ready to fight again. Good thing to because Kontan decided to disappeared right after that and time started up again.

She quickly rolled onto her side and avoided the attack, then thrust her armored arm upward and fired a spirit blast full force and near point-blank range. The explosion propelled the woman upward into the ceiling. She fell back to the ground almost as quickly as she reached the ceiling, and landed right smack on her head.

Koshino had rolled up and was now charging up energy in Kontan Denka. Luxuria staggered upward and eyed the younger girl with a look that could have pierced straight through steel.

'_Damn it, what happened to her!? One second she's about to die, then the next she shoots me straight into the ceiling!'_

Luxuria watched in raging surprise as Koshino's spiritual pressure began to climb rapidly. When the fight began, it was almost a third smaller than hers, now all of a sudden it was over a third _larger_! She growled and went straight at her; whatever she was doing building up all that energy couldn't be good for her, and the closer she got the better off she would be.

As she reached the girl, she slashed down at her at full strength, only to hit the ground. Koshino had used shunpo and was now behind her with her gauntlet pressed against her back. An explosion ripped open on her and she was sent flying face first into a wall.

She was about to push herself up off the ground when she looked up to see Koshino standing over her. She rolled forward and sliced upward, but missed as the brunette stepped back and it hit nothing but the air in front of her. She brought her katana down in a vertical slash, only to have it countered by another _Denka Houshutsu. _

The beam was larger and more powerful this time though, and her blade was literally cracking under the pressure. She managed to hold it off for a few seconds before the katana broke apart into hundreds of fragments and she felt the spirit energy burn at her skin.

She was blown back in the current and remained there even after the attack died down. She looked down; her sword only had about an eighth of its original length, and even that had been severely dulled by the sudden surge of power. She threw the shattered weapon away in frustration and rose again, prepared to attack her with hand-to-hand instead.

She threw a punch, then a roundhouse kick, then another direct forward kick. Koshino was able to dodge the punch, ducked under the roundhouse, then caught her foot during the last kick. She slid her right foot behind the foot Luxuria still had on the ground, knocking her onto the ground.

She hit the ground, landing on her back. She groaned as she regained her barrings, only to feel Koshino's gauntlet-ed fingers wrap around her face. She looked up, her eyes bulging as she felt the spirit particles gathering between the glove and her head. Every second it increased in temperature, so much to that it began to burn the skin on the side and lower parts of her face completely off. She screamed from the pain, but they were muffled as Koshino's metal covered hand was over her mouth as well.

Koshino closed her eyes, not wanting to watch what she was about to do.

_"Denka Houshutsu," _she muttered.

Luxuria screamed one last time before the beam opened up point-blank in her face, ungulfing the entire upper half of her body. She felt her skin slowly peel away before it was finally gone and her muscles began disintegrating as well. Her eyes were burned away, and her inner body began to char over. The energy just kept ripping her body apart until, finally, there just wasn't anything left to take apart.

Koshino let the attack die down, and felt Kontans strength leave her. The golden gauntlet faded away, and her standard katana found its way onto the sash on her robes. Her shoulder and chest started aching again, luckily it seemed that Kontan was still halting the bleeding for as long as she could. She looked back at -what used to be- Luxuria. The _Denka Houshutsu_ had completely disintegrated everything past her waist, leaving the lower half of her body laying on the floor. The whole sight made Koshino nauseous, and she quickly looked away.

She reached out with her spiritual senses and scanned the rest of the base. All the others seemed to have delt with their opponents as well except for Matt and Ira. In fact, it didn't seem like they had moved since they got there, like they weren't even doing anything except standing there.

She located the rest of the group, they'd all met back in the main hall. She walked back to the entrance, using the wall for support. Whatever was going on, she just hoped Matt would be alright.

**

* * *

And that concludes the Battle Royal arc. Four more chapters people, FOUR MORE! We're on the home stretch now! Once again, sorry about the longer than usual update time, a lot of stuff happened that got in the way (mostly a little writers block), but I still got it out.**

**By the by, if any of you are Fateful XIII fans to, then I've decided to put up the first chapter of Fateful XIII: Rewind, which I did earlier today. Check it out.**

**Please review, it makes the world go 'round.  
**


	16. Chapter 16: The Cavalry Arrives

**Guardian Angel II:**

**War of the Seven Sins**

Chapter 16

The Cavalry Arrives

**Disclaimer: **If you think I own Bleach, then you're a complete dumbass!

Now, I'd like to shine the spotlight on a special reader. Soganox probably gave me the best review I've ever gotten...ever. Now most of what you said made a lot of sense to me. Looking back on it, I do agree with, frankly, the whole ridiculousness of it all. I wrote those chapters before I became familiar with the whole 'Mary-sue' type term, and now I see that Matt was one of those. Since then I've tried to make him seem less overly-powerful, but I feel the damage has already been done.

The necklace that Urahara and Ichigo gave him to redistribute his power was a device to help me make him a bit less...Chuck Norris-ey, but I knew it would only do so much. Remember though, that the Spirit Buffer ability that Matt has can have some serious, even lethal drawbacks, and the only time he's really more powerful than Ichigo is when he breaks them down, like when he used it against Ichigo in chapter 4 (even though he still lost). Otherwise, Ichigo is still superior to him.

One last thing I'd like to address is, yes, I do tend to give away more than I mean to here on the A/N's. It's a problem I'm trying to work on, but I just get so damn excited when writing these chapters I can't help myself. Regardless of the kinks in the story, I'm still proud of it and I'm glad you enjoy it. I loved the review and want to thank you for all the critical thinking you put into it, you've given me some things to consider when I begin writing a new story.

Now, let's get rollin' to that Bleach goodness! (Sorry about this huge A/N)

* * *

Outside, the fighting was even more brutal than inside. Nathan had released Teikiatsu and was swinging it in wide arcs with the cloth attached to its grip and his forearm. The Hellspawns were so tightly packed that he could take out at least a dozen in one arc. A distance away, Chad was decimating their numbers with his armored right arm, attacking in every direction and blowing them into the air before they disintegrated. Uryu was still leaping into the air, raining arrows down and covering the others, cutting down any Hollows who got too close while their backs were turned. Rukia was freezing them in mass numbers with Sode no Shirayuki, while Grimmjow was hacking away with his own sword.

Nathan leaped into the air and back-flipped, landing next to Rukia. They stood back to back, surrounded on all sides by the Hellspawn Hollows.

"How long do you think we can keep this up?" she asked.

Nathan shrugged. "Beats me, I can't sense bloody shit in there!"

"Just keep fighting, they'll be out soon enough!" he ordered.

Nathan threw Teikiatsu forward, spearing another Hollow in the chest. He pulled the cloth and yanked it free, then swung it over both his and Rukia's head, and brought it down in a vertical arc, completely bisecting another Hollow vertically. Rukia meanwhile fired offa_ hakuren _(White Ripple) at the Hellspawns in front of her, freezing everything in its path.

Meanwhile, Grimmjow was having a blast slicing and dicing his way through the crowd. He wore that slightly psychotic smile as he just randomly swung his blade in every direction, getting lost in the mindless fun.

"Oh man, I am lovin' this!" he shouted.

"Leave it to the blue haired psychotic guy to _enjoy_ fighting the armies of Hell," mocked Uryu as he landed next to him, firing off another pair of arrows.

"Come on, when's the last time we've all gotten together to fight someone who posed an actual threat, like five years? This is the most fun I've had in ages! It's the good ol' days all over again!"

"I think you're forgetting we were all almost killed in the 'good old days'."

"That's what made it so damn fun!"

Uryu shook his head and leaped back into the air, continuing his strategy of aerial bombardment. The group shifted positions again, this time with Grimmjow and Nathan teaming up, and Chad and Rukia a little farther away. Nathan kept up his attacks involving the wide arced swings, and Grimmjow just did whatever the hell he wanted. Rukia was still using _hakuren _the majority of the time to freeze the Hollows as they advanced, and Chad continued to fire spirit blasts from his right arm.

Nathan swung hung Teikiatsu again, lopping off two Hollow's heads, then caught the weapon in his hand. Grimmjow back-flipped to avoid a swing from one of the Hellspawns, then countered by thrusting his blade forward, impaling it in its chest.

Rukia, ducked under an attack aimed at her and fired off another hakuren, freezing another twenty Hollows behind it. Chad punched out a Hollow with its scythe raised, then followed up by kicking the one next to it in the chin, sending it flying over its brethren into the distance.

They all had taken injuries through the battle. Nathan had more than a few cuts along his arms and one of the Hollows had gotten him on the shoulder. Rukia was in a similar condition, minus the hit on her shoulder. Uryu was in the air most of the time, so he was relatively unharmed, though he did get hit earlier on his right outer thigh. Chad had a few shallow cuts on his chest, but other than that, he was okay. Grimmjow and taken the most injuries, but that was just out of disregard for his own safety in exchange for having his 'fun'.

While the Hellspawns were weak compared to them, they were severely outnumbered. No matter how many they killed, more just seemed to pop out of the ground. The most frightening thing was, if this was a contingent of the whole army, how large was the actual army? They had been fighting out there for at least forty minutes, probably more, and the constant use of their spiritual pressure was beginning to take its toll.

Rukia and Nathan were starting to breath heavier, chad was beginning to slump a little from the extra weight of his armor, Uryu wasn't able stay in the air as long, and -even though he'd never admit it- Grimmjow was getting tired to.

Outside, Nathan looked calm and collected even as he was spinning and slashing Teikiatsu, but inside he was starting to worry. It wasn't so much about Matt and the others inside, it was more for themselves. If they had to keep this up much longer, they start taking injuries, which wouldn't due if they had to make a quick escape. They were strong, but even the five of them couldn't fight an army.

"Regroup, everyone regroup!" called Nathan.

Uryu landed next to him, while Chad and Rukia blasted their way over to them. The five stood in a circle, and Nathan struggled to come up with a plan. They were completely encircled and they were running out of room fast. He gripped Teikaitsu and began spinning it over their heads in huge circle, building up wind speed.

"Chad, Uryu, keep them back for a few seconds! Rukia, when I give the order, make the largest_ tsukishiro _(White Moon) you can!"

She nodded. "Got it!"

Uryu and Chad advanced outward and held as many Hollows off as they could, slowing their advance and hopefully giving Nathan the time he needed. Nathan suddenly stopped spinning Teikaitsu and lodged the blade into the ground.

"Everyone around me!" he shouted.

They didn't need to be told twice, and Uryu and Chad jumped back and stood beside Nathan, as did Grimmjow and Rukia. The spinning air that he had gathered suddenly shot outward and up, creating a vortex that resembled a reverse tornado. It hung over their heads, and all the Hollows in the area were being plucked into the air, and began spinning helplessly in the vortex. It got to the point where only a few dozen Hellspawns were left on the ground, as the majority were in the sky being twirled around like rag-dolls.

"Rukia...now!"

She was on it before he even addressed her, and the ground already glowed with the icy white glow of the _tsukishiro_. Chad grabbed onto Nathans collar and pulled him out of the radius of the circle with the rest of the group, as he was panting and slumping over his zanpakuto for support. They all watched as the whitish blue column shot into the air, engulfing Nathan's vortex and the hundred of Hollows. Everything was shadowed for a moment as the ice glowed with a bright light that made them all squint their eyes.

When everything cleared away, the ice's interior was nearly completely packed with the black figures of the Hellspawn Hollows. It was so full, some of them were actually sticking out of the the column only half frozen.

"Grimmjow...go," panted Nathan.

The blue haired Arrancar needed no provocation, and bulleted for the _tsukishiro_ like a kid in a toy store. He jumped up into the air and flew up the length of the icy column. As he climbed upward, he took his zanpakuto and sliced open his right hand. His hand then began to glow in a blue light and electrical discharges escaped between his fingers. When his flight came to an end, he planted his foot on the top of the column and front-flipped further into the air, and aimed his hand at the top of the _tsukishiro_.

"Gran Rey Cero!" he shouted.

The enhanced Cero blast exploded from his hand in a wild display of raw reiatsu. The beam drilled its way down back into the ground, breaking down the ice as it went. When the cero finally _did _hit the ground, the whole thing exploded, sending fragments in every direction. In all the commotion, Grimmjow could still be seen flying back to the group with a huge smile of satisfaction on his face.

He landed back next to Nathan, the field close to completely cleared of all enemies.

"Couldn't you have just used a regular Cero?" asked Rukia.

He shrugged. "Yeah, but that was way more flashy. It's all about presentation."

"What do you supposed is wrong with them?" asked Uryu.

They all looked over at the fifty or so remaining Hollows. They were remaining completely still and unmoving, like they were watching or waiting for something.

"Who knows, maybe they're giving up," said Rukia hopefully.

"I don't think so, they mi..." he was cut off as the ground suddenly began shaking.

"What the hell is that!?" shouted Grimmjow.

The ground was now cracking and breaking apart, and they stood shocked as hundreds of Hellspawn's crawled out of the crevices. The black skeletal monsters hefting their black scythes, and their glowing red eyes burning with rage that could only be found in a Hollow.

"You've gotta be kidding me," groaned Nathan.

He pushed himself up with _Teikaitsu_, and brought it to bear.

"Alright...come on you demonic wankers!" he shouted, wobbling from his lack of reiatsu. The five of them immediately followed and stood ready to fight again.

"How long do you think we can keep this up?" asked Uryu.

"As long as we have to."

"They'll get out in time, if we keep fighting we'll get through this," said Chad quietly.

They were all ready to rush forward and fight again when they heard a new voice come into the mix of sounds.

"_Sing Benihime!_"

A red shot of reiatsu moved across the line of advance in front of the Hollows, dismembering a few of them and halting their movement as they looked over to identify the new threat. Out of no where, a green robed Urahara landed between the five and the Hollows, adjusting his hat as he landed.

"Hello everyone!" he said in a singsong voice.

"Urahara!?" shouted everyone in surprise. (except Chad of course.)

"Hey, what about me!?" came another, female voice. A black and purple blur could be seen jumping through the Hollows ranks, landing bone shattering blows that dismembered most of its victims. When the blur finally stopped its movement, it landed next to Urahara, dark purple hair flowing in the wind.

The figure turned around to reveal none other than Yoruichi, her grin large as ever.

"How are all you doing?" she said cheerily.

"What're you doing here!?" shouted Grimmjow.

She put on a pout face. "What, you don't want the help?"

Rukia slammed her foot into the back of Grimmjow's head and pushed it into the ground. "Of course, of course we could use the help!"

"Good, because we're not alone," said Urahara.

Just as he said that, pink petals shot past the group of now seven, and began cutting through the ranks of the Hollows, followed by a series of huge red cannon like blasts. Byakuya suddenly shunpoed into the group while using his Senbonzakura to rip the Hollows apart. Next, Renji appeared beside him, Hihiō Zabimaru wrapped around him.

"Brother, Renji!"

"That's still not all of them," stated Urahara.

As if to answer the question none of them even got to ask, a giant hulk of a man with a smaller figure on his shoulder jumped over them all and leaped straight into the fray of enemies. They all recognized them as Zaraki and Yachiru. Followed by those two was Ikkaku and Yumichika.

The last three to show up were Izuru, Hisagi, and Matsumoto, all of them with their Shikai active and ready to fight.

"You five go on in and help the others, we'll handle everything out here," said Urahara.

They all stood there for a second, watching all the others begin to battle against the Hellspawns. Then they all began to move again; Chad threw an exhausted Nathan over his shoulder, and they rushed into the base. Once they were inside, they could feel spiritual pressure clearly again. Ichigo, Toshiro, Koshino, and Holly were all gathered up ahead. Matt and Ira were even farther away though, but they didn't seem to actually be doing _anything_, just standing there.

After running for at least five minutes, they saw the dim light at the end of the tunnel, and entered the main hall. The dark room was lit only by torches, and there were some less than appealing statues of horrible creatures and angels in struggle. The four others from their original group, plus Acedia, were all standing there, all of them panting in front of a massive set of doors.

They all turned their heads to see the other half their group arrive in the hall.

"What're you guys doing here, what about the Hollows?" asked Ichigo.

"Reinforcements from the Soul Society, they're handling everything outside," said Nathan, forcing his way off Chads shoulder and onto the ground.

"What's he doing here?" he asked, looking over at Acedia.

Holly spoke up, "He's with us now, so lay off."

"Fine, fine, so what's the situation?"

Ichigo turned back around, facing the huge doors.

"These doors just appeared when we tried to get to where Matt was. We've shot everything we can at it, it won't budge. Cero's, Getsuga Tensho's, nothings working."

"What do we do then?" asked Rukia.

"I don't think there's much we can do. We just need to believe that Matt and Ira will be able to take that motherfucker down," said Nathan.

"He will, I know he will," said Koshino.

Holly nodded. "Yeah, he better, or_ I'm_ gonna kill him."

They all stood there, reaching out with their spiritual senses, waiting for the last battle to go down, and see if their friend would be okay.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Astaroths throne room, the demon began laughing again. Matt and Ira both were starting to really get sick of that laugh, and just wished they could get on with this fight already. They'd been standing here, observing the battles for absolutely no reason other than Astaroth didn't think he and Ira were any threat. Matt was determined to prove him wrong.

"Hm. It seems you have the advantage now. I'm outnumbered and outgunned, I should probably just surrender."

Matt stepped forward. "Let's just get this show on the road, I'm getting sick of all this waiting!"

"Just accept the fact that we're gonna kill your ass you son-of-a-bitch!" shouted Ira.

Astaroth kept on laughing, and drew his sword. The twin blade to Matts suddenly erupted in a black flame, mirroring his Bankai. Matt was furious; Astaroth had stolen his face, his his body, now he's copying his sword!

"Very well, if you are both that eager to die, then come," he said confidently.

Neither of them missed a beat and dashed forward, Matt swinging back his claymore and Ira readying his scythe. They both slashed at the same time, colliding with Astaroth's blade, ringing out the first clash of the battle.

* * *

Okay, that's finished. Now, as a little extra bonus to you all, and in spirit of the holiday, I'm throwing in a short Halloween special below. There isn't any set time period this is set in and it has absolutely nothing to do with the story, so don't ask questions, just enjoy.

* * *

"So explain this holiday to me again," said Koshino.

"Okay, basically, little kids get to dress up in costumes and go door to door and collect candy, and the older kids and adults can throw parties like we're doing," explained Matt.

"Alright, got it. So who all is coming?"

Matt sat down on his couch in his living room. All the decorations were set, all the food was laid out, and the best part, his parents were off on their anniversary dinner. Yes, that's right, they got married on Halloween, which meant the house was his.

"Well, Ichigo, Uryu, Chad, Grimmjow, and Nathan said they could come for sure. Frosty said he'd come if he didn't have any paperwork, so he probably won't be coming. Rukia said she'd come if she could, but she might be busy, and Holly will probably be here any minute."

She walked over and sat down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder. They both had gotten into costume for the party. Matt had dressed up as an angel with a white robe and a little foil halo over his head. Koshino had been exploring his parents bookshelves a few weeks ago and became infatuated with Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, and decided to dress up like Juliet. She had the midevil dress and everything, you gotta love e-bay.

They were pretty comfortable just sitting there on the couch until they heard the doorbell ring. Matt hopped up and rushed down the hallway to open the door. On the other side was Holly, who was currently dressed up like a ninja. She covered her mouth, trying not to laugh at Matts costume.

"What, Koshino thought it was clever!" he protested.

"I'm sure she did," she laughed.

He grew an Ichigo-like scowl on his face as she walked past him. Speaking of the orange haired Soul Reaper, he noticed a _senkaimon _opening in his front lawn. Through it walked Ichigo and Rukia, Nathan, Grimmjow, Chad, Uryu, even Frosty and his Lieutenant, Matsumoto, who he met a few times before.

Ichigo was dressed as what could only be a zombie, as he painted his skin green and had stitches and painted on scars all over his face. Rukia was dressed as (surprise, surprise) Chappy the rabbit. Nathan was in a 1940's fly-boy outfit. Grimmjow get dressed up, which honesty surprised Matt, and was dressed as the Grim Reaper with a black robe and plastic, (at least he hoped it was plastic), scythe. Chad had come as a Matador, and Uryu as Robin Hood. Matsumoto came along dressed up as a cat, probably inspired by her zanpakuto. Toshiro was the only one to not dress up, but at least he didn't wear his captains robe, instead he just wore the standard Soul Reaper robes.

"Breaking out the casual wear, huh Frosty?" mocked Matt.

"Shut it, I shouldn't even be here. I've got mounds of work to do but Matsumoto heard about the party and wouldn't go unless I came along, and frankly, she was annoying me," he hissed.

With that, he closed his front door and joined everyone in the living room. He stood in the front of the room and cleared his throat, gathering everyones attention.

"Alright, I'm glad all you guys could make it. Look...we're all friends here, we've been through a lot together. I don't think there's a force in the world that could break us apart, and I wanted to throw this party because we don't get together like this very often. We've all got important things that we need to be doing. Work, school, personal problems, but this is a time where we can just forget all that for a little while and just have some fun. So, thanks for coming and happy Halloween."

Everyone nodded and clapped.

The night went fairly well, everyone enjoyed catching up with one another and making jokes. Matsumoto brought her own small stash of sake and got hammered pretty quick, which everyone found pretty funny except for Toshiro, who was mortified. Grimmjow and Ichigo got into one of their famous arguments/brawls with Rukia quickly put an end to with two harsh kicks to the face. Nathan eventually got into Matsumoto's left over sake and got a little drunk himself. He pretty much made an ass of himself as well. In fact, he and Matsumoto were so out of it, they started dancing around the room until the both fell on their asses.

All in all, it was a hilarious night, filled with laughs, friends, alchohol, and a few injuries. Nothing Matt wasn't used to after hanging around these guys for so long.

Then a thought hit him...he couldn't wait until Christmas.

**

* * *

Hope you got at least one laugh out of that. I'll see you when I get the next chapter up. Until then be good, stay safe, and Happy Halloween everyone!**


	17. Chapter 17: Shadows and Regrets

**Guardian Angel II:**

**War of the Seven Sins**

Chapter 17

Shadows and Regrets

**Disclaimer: **Hand'th me the Holy Hand Grenade, so that I may blow all those who still have the psychotic delusion that I own Bleach to bitty, bitty, bite sized bits.

Okay people, this is it, we're on the home stretch! The fight you've all been waiting for...**Chappy vs Kon**! What? ...wrong fight? Right...okay, let me see here...OH! Oh right, sorry. My mistake guys, this isMatt and Ira vs Astaroth! I was thinking of the epilogue back there. (I'm chucking another Holy Hand Grenade at anyone who just took that seriously)

WARNING: If you have a history of allergy to awesomeness, DO NOT read this chapter or any following chapters! For those of you who do not have this allergy, I would still recommend sticking some toilet paper up your ass, just to avoid crapping your pants in sheer amazement.

You guys go ahead and read, I'll go do...something.

_

* * *

PREVIOUSLY_

_"Hm. It seems you have the advantage now. I'm outnumbered and outgunned, I should probably just surrender."_

_Matt stepped forward. "Let's just get this show on the road, I'm getting sick of all this waiting!"_

_"Just accept the fact that we're gonna kill your ass you son-of-a-bitch!" shouted Ira._

_Astaroth kept on laughing, and drew his sword. The twin blade to Matts suddenly erupted in a black flame, mirroring his Bankai. Matt was furious; Astaroth had stolen his face, his body, now he's copying his sword!_

_"Very well, if you are both that eager to die, then come," he said confidently._

_Neither of them missed a beat and dashed forward, Matt swinging back his claymore and Ira readying his scythe. They both slashed at the same time, colliding with Astaroth's blade, ringing out the first clash of the battle._

* * *

Matt jumped into the air after jumping back from their first strike and attempted to hit Astaroth from above, only to have him simple wave his sword to send him flying into the ceiling. The blow didn't faze him, and he quickly released his Bankai, not wasting time with his Shikai, and rocketed back down at him at full speed. Astaroth jumped back at the last second, and Matt slammed his sword into the ground, obliterating almost half the floor.

As Matt recovered from the miss, Ira was already covering him with an offensive of his own. Astaroth was standing on an armrest on his throne, his right hand on his blade, and his left on his waist. Ira screamed as he sliced at him with his huge scythe, only for him to also fail in hitting him, only slicing through the top of his throne. His silver blade cut through the marble like a chainsaw through toilet paper, and the stone fell to the floor.

Asatroth was attacking Matt in an instant, and he flailed his blade wildly to block all of the attacks. He was avoiding harm, but the demon inhabiting his body was pushing him back until he slammed himself into the wall. Astaroth brought down his black-flamed sword down on Matt, meeting his white one in a clash of holy and unholy fires. Astaroths blade was just over his head, slicing into the rock above him, melting the rock into magma. Small drips almost caught him in the arm a few times, and the black flames were mere centimeters from licking his face. The heat was already almost too much to bear.

Matt rolled to the side, avoiding Astaroths final push, and the blade simply sliced straight down into the wall. Out of no where, Ira rammed into Astaroth and pinned him to the wall with the long pole of his scythe. The advantage was only momentary as Astaroth sent out a reiatsu pulse and knocked the both of them onto their backs.

They both rolled to their feet, backing up a few feet to gain distance and prepare. The flames on Astaroth's blade began to grow fiercer, gaining size and intensity. He smiled and yelled out, "_Acerbus Incendia!_"

Matt quickly followed suit and shouted, "Sanctus Incendia!"

The two attacks met at the middle of them room, and for a few moments, they were completely equal. The white and black flames clashing and mixing in a spiritual struggle created a phenomenon that caused light to flow equally from all directions, and for a few incredible seconds, there were no shadows, no darkness at all. The end result of the two opposing flames coming into contact however, was one of a more explosive nature.

The blast had a color that Matt had never seen before, and would probably never see again. He couldn't have described it if he tried, both because of its beauty, and the fact that he was being thrown backwards by the shock-wave. They stopped just short of hitting the wall, and the dust cleared away revealing that Astaroth had lost some ground as well.

Speaking of the demon, he was walking casually toward his pair of opponents with a grin on his face.

"Impressive boy, quite impressive indeed," he sneered.

Ira growled and charged him with his scythe.

"Would you just shut up and fucking die already!" he screamed as he swung the curved blade at him.

Astaroth easily jumped over the attack and kicked Ira in the face with the heel of his boot. The red haired immortal was blasted into the wall next to Matt. Matt spread out his wings and held his claymore tightly; he would attack him before he could even move. With a strong kick off and the help of his wings, he sped across the room faster than he'd ever moved before. He thrust out Gabriel when he was close enough, but the demon sidestepped out of the blades path, just barely missing him.

Matt dug his feet into the floor to try and stop, and only did so after ripping apart over a half a ton of rock. Astaroth turned and looked at him, and Matt could see a few trickles of blood fall down his cheek. He seemed to notice as well and wiped a bit off and examined it, then began chuckling to himself.

"It seems that your blade was dispersing the air so quickly, the wind that was coming off the tip was enough to slice this skin open," he laughed.

His laughter stopped when he sensed Ira suddenly appear behind him, and quickly disappeared as well in a manner reminiscent of shunpo. Ira landed on his feet, but was soon picked up again as Astaroth came up behind him and gripped the back of his head. He was promptly thrown through all seven smaller thrones that stood in front of Astaroths, and came out the other side sliding on his back.

Matt used this distraction to attack Astaroth while he had his back turned to him. His blade crashed down on the stone floor as Astaroth once again nimbly evaded his attack, and soon felt his skin rip apart as the demons blade sliced open his left shoulder. He stumbled back, but keeping his balance, and sucked in and spat out air through clenched teeth.

He was too fast, too strong; even between him and Ira, Astaroth was too strong. He cursed under his breath at their current predicament.  
Matt leaped over the rubble of the seven small thrones and landed next to Ira who was shaking off the daze from being thrown through said thrones.

"Ira, we're not doing so hot. Don't you have anything on this guy to give us an edge?"

He shook his head. "Even I didn't think he'd be this strong. We're gonna need more help to win this."

"I don't think we'll be getting any. If the others could help us, then they would have shown up by now. I think we're on our own here."

"Huh, well if we're gonna die, let's at least give the folks at home a good show!"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, let's go out with a bang."

"Let's go!" they shouted in unison.

Matt pulled back his free fist and gathered his reiatsu, forcing a large amount into his palm. It began to glow a bright yellow and pulsate with an overflowing strength.

"Try dodging this! Way of Destruction 88: **Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon!**" he shouted.

At the instant that the chant ended, a torrent of raging yellow reiatsu exploded from his fist, threatening to engulf the entire room in its fury. Astaroth slammed his blade into the blast as it approached him, holding the energy back. The demon let out a scream of rage as the force of kido pushed him back, grinding away the floor as he dug his feet into it.

Astaroth continued to block the attack, even as he was forced against the wall. The spell eventually overloaded and exploded, blinding Ira and Matt from the result of the attack. When the flash subsided, Astaroth stood there against the wall, panting and blood running down his arms and forehead. He looked up at them, his eyes full of fiery rage from behind the ice blue eyes of Matts physical body.

As he took his first step forward, he was stopped when Ira showed up out of no where and sliced his torso open with his scythe. Astaroth staggered back again and began coughing up blood.

"Ha, you have no idea how much I've been waiting to do that!" he exclaimed victoriously.

Matt jointed the two of them and pointed the tip of his blade at the demon. He looked up at them with a still strong and defiant look.

"You lose Astaroth," said Matt, trying his hardest not to smirk.

They both lost their confidence though, when Astaroth began laughing. He slowly rose, and at the same time, Matt and Ira both backed up further as his spiritual pressure began to rise. They watched in wonder and fear as a black aura began to cover the body that Astaroth inhabited, and his back began to bulge with sickening cracks and squishes. In one last push, two huge dragon wings sprouted from his back in the same place as Matt had his.

"You fools honestly believed I was fighting at full capacity? Heh...die."

As he said that, he disappeared again and before either of them knew what happened, Astaroth was behind them both, standing as if nothing had happened. His sword was lodged in the ground at his feet and stood as if waiting for something.

Matt looked at Ira, and he shrugged his one arm, and they both attacked. As Matt raised has blade and Ira pulled back his scythe, Astaroth simply snapped his fingers. Suddenly they both exploded in a mess of blood. Matt has three gashes going up his chest, two on each shoulder, and to on his inner right thigh. Ira had similar wounds on his torso, but only had one gash on his left shoulder, and he had three on his outer left thigh.

Ira leaned on his scythe for support, his leg couldn't hold all his weight, and Matt slumped against his claymore, gasping for breath from the sudden pain. Astaroth stood over him with a smirk on his face, and kicked him in the side of the head, sending him into the base that supported his huge marble throne. Matt groaned and couldn't get up, he was too dazed and he was pretty sure there was a rock on top of him. When his eyes finally regained clarity, his eyes widened when he was what he was laying in front of.

His luck just increased when Ira was suddenly kicked next to him.

"Ira...look," he muttered.

Ira didn't respond, but looked up anyway and his eye widened as well. They were both looking at a white portal being held in place by a gold frame with serpents and dragons entangling its perimeter. Matt looked over at Ira, as if to silently ask him 'is this it?'. He responded by nodding in surprise, like he couldn't believe their luck.

"Can you still close the portal?" Matt whispered.

He nodded again. "Yeah, but Astaroth is gonna be a problem, it'll take a while and time is something we don't have."

Matt knocked away the rock on top of him like it was weightless. "Don't you worry about him, I've still got an ace in the hole that'll give us some time. Get through that thing, I'll keep him busy."

"Right, just try your best not to die," he joked.

"Just get through the damn thing," he laughed.

They both rose, using their weapons to support their weight. Ira nodded and limped his way through the portal, disappearing from sight. One that was done, Matt exited the rubble in much the same manner, fingering the cross necklace which he'd freed from under his shirt. He approached Astaroth, fully aware of the consequences of what he was about to do.

"Hm, Ira has gone to seal the portal eh? No matter, you won't last long," said Astaroth confidently.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself,"grunted Matt.

He focused in on and entered his inner world and contacted Gabriel, who quickly answered his call. They stood in the church that was his inner world. Matt noticed that it was severely damaged. The roof was collapsing and the walls had caved in, the pews were splintered and overturned, not to mention it was raining heavily outside.

The boy and the angel stood at the front of the church.

**"What is it Matt?"** he asked urgently.

"_Gabriel, my body is pretty banged up, and I might not survive what I'm about to do. I need your help to keep my spiritrons together for a long as possible, we need to give Ira time to close that portal._"

**"Matt...you're not going to do what I think you're suggesting are you?"**

"_I don't know, what do you think I'm about to do?_"

**"I _think_ you're about to take off that necklace and break down your spirit buffers to cause a massive surge in your reiatsu and use it to fight Astaroth."**

"_Yeah...that's pretty much it right there._"

Gabriel grabbed Matt by the shoulders and looked at him with concern etched on his face.** "Matt, that's crazy, you'll never survive in your current state, even if you do win, the damage would be too...!"**

"_GABRIEL! Get off you angelic ass and help me or shut the hell up!_"

He backed off and sighed, but then complied. **"Very well, I guess this really_ is_ the end of the road."**

He shrugged and looked at the gold cross, which was the only thing undamaged in the ruined church. "_For this one life yes, but the way I see it, I'll either be reincarnated or go to heaven. Either one sounds good. Besides...I've died once before, it wasn't so bad._"

Gabriel stood next to him, staring at the gold monument as well. **"...Any regrets?"**

He nodded. "_...Just two_."

**"I'm sure the first is not being able to see your friends again."**

"_Yeah._"

**"And the second?"**

He lowered his head and blushed a bit. "_...I'd like to keep that one to myself._"

Gabriel nodded. **"I think I know...she really is special to you isn't she."**

Matt smiled. "_Yeah, she is. My only other regret is not telling her...that I loved her._"

**"I think she felt the same."**

"_Yeah...I think she did. And even if she didn't, I'd still like to die thinking she did._"

**"Well, let's get on with this. We are supposed to be averting the Apocalypse after all," **Said Gabriel, laughing a fake laugh.

Matt returned the useless gesture and held out his hand. "_Let's do this. It's been fun Gabriel; see you on the other side._"

Gabriel smiled and took his hand, holding it firmly.** "Definitely my friend, definitely."**

AS they released their grip, the world faded around Matt and Astaroths chamber soon returned to his vision. He saw Astaroth as if he hadn't moved since he left, but in reality, Matt had only been with Gabriel in his world for a second by the earths clock.

"This is the end of the line Astaroth...for both of us," Matt said, grabbing ahold of the necklace.

Astaroth sneered. "What makes you say that boy?"

Matt smiled and yanked the cross forward, breaking the cord that held it round his neck. He dropped it to the ground and felt this spiritual energies suddenly flow much faster.

"You're not the only one who hasn't been fighting at full strength."

Then the aura came. Matts skin was covered form head to to with the white light of all his reiatsu at once. His feathery wings dissolved, and in their place grew wings made purely of spirit energy, pulsating with pure white reiatsu. The same went for the angelic runes lining his body and face, they all glowed pure white. His coat, gloves, and armor faded away, leaving only his robe bottom and the top of his body bare. The only thing covering it were the runes and his aura.

His hair changed from night black to white like Gabriels, and his eyes lost their pupils, becoming completely white as well. His spiritual pressure filled the entire room and crushed everything that wasn't strong enough to withstand it, which was everything except Astaroth himself, who was looking at Matt with the first true feeling of fear since he arrived on earth.

Matt could already feel the pain on the inside. He didn't have enough stamina or reiatsu left to hold off the negative effects of his Spirit Buffers breaking. He could already tell that he was slowly being peeled away by his own power. He had to make this quick.

He lowered his blade so that the tip was facing Astaroth. It no longer had flames engulfing it, but was instead glowing such a bright whitish-silver that it made the demon's eyes hurt.

"Take a good look around Astaroth, because you and I will die here today, it's as simple as that. I hope for your sake, God is more merciful than I am."

Astaroth shook off the momentary shock and raised his own spiritual pressure, immersing himself in his dark reiatsu. He looked out and scowled.

"Which one will win I wonder...Heaven or Hell?" he said to himself, then sprang forward with his blade raised.

Matt mirrored the motion and they closed in on one another, and swung their blades.

**

* * *

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's right, it's a motherfuckin' cliffy! I'm even more evil than Astaroth! ...Okay, I'm done. **

**So what did you guys think? Good? Bad? ...Badass?**

**Leave your opinions, go on!  
**


	18. Chapter 18: Visit from the Old Boy

**Guardian Angel II:**

**War of the Seven Sins**

Chapter 18

Visit from the Old Boy

**Disclaimer:** I have nothing left to say

**This is it, this is it!** Soak in this glorious moment people, it's coming to a close! Only one chapter after this one remains, and it probably won't hold a candle to the ending I've got in mind for this chapter! I'm just gonna stop talking, otherwise I'll just ruin everything and I'll hate myself.

By the way, does anyone know what the chapter title up there actually means? If you do, then you've got a pretty good idea of what's gonna go down.

I suggest many tissues; trust me, you'll need em.

* * *

Matt and Astaroth had been fighting in their most powerful forms for almost five minutes now. The pain Matt felt from breaking his Soul Buffers at first had only grown over the time. It was now at the point where he had to keep his teeth grinding together to distract him from the fact that he was slowly disintegrating molecule by molecule. The good new was that Astaroth and he were now almost a complete match for each other.

Strike for strike, blow for blow, Matt kept up with him. His muscles burned and he felt like his bones would crack form the strain any second, but he was keeping par. He'd even managed to strike a few blows on him. The demon had a nasty gash running from his right shoulder down the side of his torso to his waist, and two smaller blade wounds running through his left side horizontally.

They weren't even in Astaroths throne room anymore, they were fighting down the hallway that had led to the room, coming up on a huge set of wooden doors that he hadn't seen when they first got here. They were bounding from wall to ceiling to wall then to the other wall all in an attempt to land glancing blows on each other. Matt came to a halt in front of the doors and put his back to the wooden barriers, facing an oncoming Astaroth.

"_Acerbus Incendia!_" the demon shouted.

Matt dove forward, out of the way, and the blast of dark flames impacted the doors, exploding and splintering them in half. Astaroth was lost in the mess of dust and debris, but heard the distinct sound of a blade displacing the air with a high pitched whistle. He brought up his sword just in time to block Matt, who was attacking from above. The force of the blow crushed the stone underneath them, and the shockwave shook the entire pathway, collapsing the way to the throne room.

Matt twisted in the air, slamming his foot into the side of Astaroths head, knocking him into the main hall. He didn't waste any time giving chase and used shunpo to appear above him while he was still flying backwards. He brought his fist down on his face and slammed him into ground, plowing through the rock as they continued to rocket through the room together.

Just before they collided with the wall, Matt jumped into the air, run up the wall a few steps, then back-flipped and floated harmlessly in the air. For a few tense Matt floated there waiting for Astaroth, oblivious to the fact that all his friends were staring awe-stuck at his sudden appearance.

With a cry of rage and a swinging blade, Astaroth emerged from the crater with blazing eyes. Matt attacked with a horizontal slash, only to have his opponent duck under it and kick him in the side under his ribs. Matt wrapped his arm around his leg and began spinning at high speeds. He swung him in circles and smashed him into three support pillars before finally letting him go and throwing him into the ground.

Matt gave chase this time, and smashed his left fist into the ground, as Astaroth cart-wheeled out of the way of his blow. The demon made a quick counter attack, introducing his swords pommel to Matt's face. He stumbled back, and just as he was about to regain his balance, Astaroth was on him again and smashed his foot into Matt's chest, knocking him onto his back.

He threw up his blade in defense, and blocked what would have been a killing blow from the opposing sword. Astaroth had him pinned to the ground and he was struggling to hold back the black blade. In a move of desperation, Matt pushed both their blades off to the side and built up a surge of reiatsu in his stomach.

Astaroth's eyes widened as a jet of white flames erupted from his mouth, burning his face. The attack only lasted about four seconds, but it was enough to make him stagger back and give Matt time to recover. Astaroth clutched his face, which was now red and raw, and had smoke rising from some of the more serious burn wounds.

"Agh, Damn you! Your death will be agonizingly slow boy, this I swear!"

Mat disregarded his empty threats and attacked him again.

"You're nothing but a broken record Astaroth!" shouted Matt.

He relentlessly attacked the demon, who was frantically blocking with all his strength. Matt meanwhile, was sucking in every bit of air he could; the pain was getting nearly unbearable. His bones were practically creaking and he could feel himself slowly destabilizing. His spiritual pressure was imploding around him; he was being crushed and pulled apart at the same time. In a sense, Astaroth was right; his death _was_ probably going to be agonizingly slow.

He was pulled from his thoughts though, when his felt Astaroth's blade bite into his lower shoulder, just next to his lungs. The scorching unholy fires sent searing pain through his veins, almost overshadowing the pain his aura was causing him…_almost_ being the key word.

It wasn't long before Astaroth had driven him into the wall opposite of where they were originally standing, and the other end of the blade was lodged into the rock behind him. He groaned from the pain and was half tempted to try and grab the blade to try and free it from his shoulder, but knew it would do no good. He'd only end up hurting himself more.

With him pinned to the wall, Astaroth proceeded to pound him in the face with his fists. They were fast, and they hurt like hell. (no pun intended!) Blood began to fly off his face like a lawn sprinkler, and he was almost certain that Astaroth had broken his jaw somewhere along the line. His forehead, his nose, his mouth, they all poured blood out like fountains.

Even as he was being beaten to death, he still found a reason to laugh. Sure he was going to die now no matter what he did, but that wasn't what he found funny; he was just wondering if this was how it would feel if he were in the movie Fight Club, being beaten in the face like this. It looked so painful in the movie, but oddly enough, here he was being bludgeoned by a demon, and he couldn't feel much of it at all.

"Why are you laughing; have you excepted your fate, or have you just gone mad!?"

As the next punch came at him, Matt suddenly shot up his hand and blocked it, catching him by the wrist. Astaroth's eyes widened as he squeezed down, crushing his forearm.

"A little of both I think," said Matt with a smile. Then he punched Astaroth back, right in the face.

The demon flew across the room again, crashed into another pillar and fell to the ground. He lay there on his stomach, slowly rising, glaring angrily at Matt. At least he would have if Matt were in his field of vision anymore. He looked around in search of his young adversary until he showed himself again in a manner most unexpected. He shot up from underground.

Astaroth attempted to escape, but it was in vain; Matt came at him too quickly, wielding both his own and Astaroths blades. Before he could even register what was happening, two searing shots of scorching pain were erupting from his chest. How looked down with a dazed look as he observed both white and black blades pierced though his chest, puncturing his lungs. He was pinned against a pillar with both claymores sticking out of his chest like a stuck pig.

"How did...you?" he asked through random gasps of air.

"Kido is pretty handy, especially those low levels ones with smaller attack radius'. I just used thrust spells in rapid succession and drove my way through the rock. I guess you didn't think of that, or you would have blocked me," he said, driving the blades in deeper.

He nodded, oddly enough with a smile on his face.

"How...unexpected," he whispered, then his head went limp and his arms fell to this sides.

Matt meanwhile, was still gripping the blades, his hands bleeding from the strength of his grip. He stood for a few seconds there before finally letting go and stumbling his way out into the middle of the room. As he limped, his spiritrons began destabilizing at a faster pace. His Bankai faded and his black Soul Reaper robes returned to him.

Koshino was the first to reach him, catching him as he fell. He slumped over limply against her body, barely able to summon the strength to mumble out a sentence. Koshino meanwhile, was balling her eyes out in fear and confusion as she watched small particles of him rise into the air and disipate into nothingness.

"W-what's happening, why is this happening!?" she cried.

Ichigo stepped forward, ready to give an explanation.

"His spirit particles are destabilizing. His spiritual pathways are degrading rapidly and he's losing reiatsu at a frightening pace. In short...he's dying."

She looked up at him, her vision blurred out by tears. "Can't you do something, don't you have any medicine or something, anything!?" she shouted.

He shook his head. "The effects are...irreversible."

Nathan pushed has way through the crowd, knelling next to his friend with an angry expression on his face. "This is total bullox! You get the fuck up Matt, quit scaring us and stand up so we can go home! GET UP DAMN IT!"

Rukia placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nathan...don't."

Holly was too busy being collapsed on the floor to get up and join them, mumbling something along the lines of, "don't leave me again."

Koshino set Matt down on his back and cried into his chest as he faded. She suddenly stopped though, when she felt a strong hand on the back of her neck.

"_Koshino...don't...d-don't cry_," mumbled Matt, barely over a whisper.

"Matt! Please, don't die, please!" she cried.

He shakily shook his head and gave a ghost of a smile. "_Can't...c-can't stop...it. I-I...need to te...tell you...before I g-go._"

She leaned in eagerly, her face right in front of his so not to miss a word. Little did she know she'd only hear two, the ones she always dreamed she'd hear.

"_L-love...you._"

Then his arm went limp and hit the ground with a thud that echoed through the entire room.

Koshino clenched her teeth and cried silently; she couldn't summon the energy to make a noise. Everyone around her was in a similar state, even Grimmjow couldn't believe the kid was gone...that he was dead. Nathan screamed in rage started shaking his body like a rag-doll.

"Wake up man, come on, wake up!" he cried.

They were all interrupted from their mourning though, when a familiar laugh filled the silence of the room. They all looked up to see Astaroth standing and alive. He held both Matt's and his own blade in each hand, and laughed like a maniac as he looked at Matt's dead body.

"It may not have been the death I would have chosen, but it all ends up the same!" he laughed.

Nathan shot up like a bullet with Teikaitsu in his hand, ready to strike the demon down. "Die you bloody fucker!"

Astaroth blocked the attack like it was nothing and hit Nathans gut with the pommel of his sword. He fell to his knees clutching his stomach. Astaroth meanwhile, raised Matt's sword high into the air.

"The irony, killed by your best friends blade. Such is life," he mused.

With a sick smile and great excitement, the plunged the blade down on the red head. Just before the sword pierced though his head, there was a sound that rang out; someone snapped their fingers.

Suddenly Astaroth ceased moving. Nathan looked up, his best friends sword only centimeters from his eye, and watched as his assailant stood there, apparently frozen in time. Then they heard footsteps echo throughout the room.

They all looked over to the entrance of the hall to see the oddest of sights. There walking through the room was a man, no older than thirty, with black hair and a small stubble of a beard on his chin. His eyes were onyx black and cold. He wore a black business suit and pants with a blood red formal tie and Italian loafers. He approached Nathan and Astaroth, only sparing the Soul Reaper a passing glance as he looked at the frozen demon.

He placed his hand on the side of Astaroths head, and suddenly his body exploded, literally exploded, and his blood splattered the entiretly of the wall. The sight was sickening as bits and chunks of organs and bones slid across the liquefied mess. With that, he simply continued his walk and approached the still fading body of Matt Anderson.

They all backed off as he approached, but held their weapons ready for what could be a new threat.

"Calm yourselves mortals, I've not come for you. I only come to correct the damage that should never have been done," he said in a monotone voice.

He knelt next to Matt and placed his index and middle finger on his forehead and entered what seemed to be a trance. They all looked on in curiosity as he worked.

* * *

Inside Matt's inner world, Gabriel mourned the death of his friend, and awaited his return to Heaven. The church was completely collapsed, and he stood on its cracked stone steps with Matt's unconscious avatar. He sighed and turned his head to the sky, which was pouring rain.

"Fool...too brave for his own good," he muttered.

"You were the same once, if I recall correctly," said a new unknown voice.

Gabriel swiveled around to see the same man that had killed Astaroth in the same dress and appearance as before.

"Lucifer, how dare you show yourself here! You have no right to defile this child's inner soul, especially not while I still remain!" he shouted with rage.

"Calm yourself my old friend, I come to aid you."

"Our friendship died eons ago, back when you decided you were more fit to rule!" he spat back.

He laughed and grew a ghost of a smirk. "I much be doing something correctly. Hell has been receiving more souls in the last century than it ever has before. My influence is growing, as much as you may detest to admit it."

Gabriel grunted. "I know you did not come to make idol conversation, speak your intentions or begone before I smite you where you stand!"

"Very well. I've merely come to correct the damage to this young boy. He is not meant to die today, not like this. Astaroth has done damage to the natural order, and if he dies, then things will only decay further," he explained calmly.

"You lie! I will not allow you to touch this boy! I would sooner die!" he shouted, drawing his blade.

"Believe what you will Gabriel, but I really have come to save him. No deals, no bargains, just simply to breath life into someone who has lost it."

"Why would you do this? You have nothing to gain."

He chuckled again in his smooth voice. "Ah, but I do. You see, if he were to die at this very moment, he would go to heaven. If i were to save him though, not only would I be repairing the natural order, but I would gain a second chance to win him."

"Win him?"

"Yes, win him. With someone like him under my command...I can only imagine the kind of chaos and havoc I could reign," he said with an almost dreamy expression.

"He will never fall to you. Nothing you could say or do would turn him," Gabriel shot back.

"Hm. If you're so certain, then let me save him. We'll see who's right eventually."

The angel looked from Lucifer to Matt, who was fading fast, almost completely devoid of all spiritual energy. If he was going to be saved, it had to be done now.

"I swear by all the stars in the universe, if you harm him in any way, I will wear your skull as a trophy and mount your heart on the golden gates of heaven themselves," he threatened.

Lucifer chuckled as he passed him and knelt over Matt. "Naturally my friend, naturally."

He blew into his hand, creating an almost translucent orb of energy, and infused it with Matts unconscious avatar, and by extension, his body. As he removed his hand again, Matt sucked in a sudden breath and his heart began to beat again. He still remained unconscious, but he was alive again, and that was enough for Gabriel.

Lucifer stood and straightened his suit. He cleared his throat and swiftly walked away, leaving Gabriel to tend to Matt. As he exited the boys inner world, he looked back at the angel and called to him.

"Gabriel!"

He looked up, anger still evident in his eyes.

"Watch over him well, I'll be watching. I'll be watching _very_ carefully," he smirked. With that, he was gone.

* * *

Back in the material world, everyone was shocked and overjoyed when they saw air suddenly be sucked in through Matts mouth, and his heart beat once again. The man in the suit stood back up and simply walked away. They all watched in wonder, both at Matt and at the man who'd just resurrected him. They were speechless and didn't even bother to ask his name.

Everyone surrounded the raven haired Soul Reaper as he lay there unconscious. Ichigo picked him up, his limp form much lighter than usual.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I've had enough of demons for one day," said Ichigo.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Rukia supported Toshiro, who was still in pain over the loss of his arm, and Chad resumed carrying Nathan. Normally they'd both be complaining about unnecessary help, but they were both no happy that their friend was alive to care at the moment.

They walked through the near endless halls until they the light of the outside world suddenly stung their eyes. When they emerged out into the light, all the Soul Reapers who'd come to help were sitting in the field, which was now Hollow free, and smiled at their arrival. Rangiku imediatly ran over and freaked out over her captain and his missing limb. Rukia greeted her brother. Renji and Ichigo gave each other a high five. Holly met up with Yoruichi and they stated talking about their fights. Koshino stuck with Ichigo as he was carrying Matt. Acedia just stayed to the sidelines, as he didn't know anyone and was too lazy to walk any more.

Nathan began conversing with the other Lieutenants and seated officers. Uryu and Chad took to themselves as well, only speaking when spoken to. Grimmjow was bragging to whoever would listen about his fight against an army of Hellspawn, and everyone was generally happy and alive.

Uarahara approached Ichigo.

"Is everything taken care of in there?" he asked.

Ichigo nodded. "We aren't all being overrun by those Hellspawns, so yeah, I'd see we're in the clear."

"And Matt, how is he?" he asked seriously.

"Pretty beat up, but he'll be fine. Some bed rest should fix him right up."

"He broke his Soul Buffers didn't he."

"How'd you know?" he asked.

"Are you kidding, everyone out here felt that massive surge of reiatsu. I'm the only one who knew what it was though."

Ichigo looked down on the younger Soul Reaper in his arms. "Yeah well, I seriously doubt he has another one of those in him."

"I'll ask about it later," he said, getting the message.

The blond walked away, off tending to other matters. Ichigo looked over at Koshino.

"Hey, I got some stuff I want to sort out. Would you mind taking Matt for a while?" he asked.

She nodded. "Of course."

She took the boys limp form and carried it off away from the crowds of people. She set him down against a wall and sat next to him, hugging him close. She refused to let him go until he woke up, she wouldn't take the chance of him suddenly beginning to fade away from her again. She leaned her head against his and closed her eyes.

She smiled as the two of them sat there. His last words before slipping into death were the most magical she'd ever heard. She couldn't stop replaying the sound in her head. She sat there just repeating the words again and again; "_Love you._" She lightly kissed his cheek and hugged him tighter.

"I love you to Matt," she whispered.

Unknown to her, he was smiling in his dark sleep at her uttering those words, and remained so until he woke up a day later in Fourth Division barracks heavily bandaged and with a pounding headache.

**

* * *

And so it finally ends. All that remains is the epilogue, which as I already said, will leave it open for a third and final installment. I'll also restate that I won't be working on it for a while, I'm starting a new story in a few days; Caught in the Middle. It's a Naruto story and there are more details on my profile page. All you Narutards (I'm one), your time has come.**

**Oh, and FYI, the chapter title: Visit from the Old Boy. In case you didn't get the joke, here it is. Old Boy is another name for the devil. In case someone out there didn't know who Lucifer was, now you know. Quite clever, no?  
**

**Just drop me a line and share your opinion on this last actual chapter, you know I love you guys.**


	19. Epilogue: With Everything comes a Price

**Guardian Angel II:**

**War of the Seven Sins**

Epilogue

With Everything comes a Price

**Disclaimer:** SPIN OUT OF CONTROL!!!! SPIN OUT OF CONTROL!!!!! TRY TO RECOVER BUT COLLIDE WITH EACH OTHER!!!!! SPIN OUT OF CONTROL!!!!!

It's over...finally over. NOT! Don't you munchkins think for a second this story is over! I might not be touching this story again for a while, but it's far from dead! Let's get through this right now so I can get started on my new story, and show you guys just what direction the last installment of Guardian Angel will take!

* * *

"Oh, I'm really not looking forward to this," groaned Matt.

"Relax mate, all the shit we went through to save their asses, they can't possibly punish you too badly," encouraged Nathan.

Matt, Nathan, Koshino, Ichigo, and Rukia were all heading to the captains hall, where Matt would face his fate. He'd woken up two days ago after the battle on the island off Elliot bay, and he'd spent the time resting up for the trials and tribulations ahead.

He wasn't looking forward to any of this; sure he knew Toshiro and Ukitake would support him no matter what, but not all the captains were fans. Namely captains Soi-fon and Sajin Komamura. Then there was the freak Kurotsuchi who'd love to just cut him open and see what made him tick. Honestly he had no clue what was gonna happen.

Suddenly they stopped, and Matt had to shake his head to escape his thoughts.

"Alright, this is it," said Ichigo.

Matt nodded, then pushed the doors open, revealing the familiar captains hall. The two rows of six captains and Yamamoto sitting in the center; all eyes were on him, as usual. He stood in between the two rows and the rest of the group stood near the door. Captain-general Yamamoto cleared his throat and gained everyone's attention, eying Matt.

"Mathew Anderson, you are have been charged with insubordination, desertion, assault on a superior officer, assault on fellow officers, destruction of a Senkaimon spirit gate, and illegal destruction of Hollows. Before we reveal your verdict, we would like to know how you justify these actions," he boomed.

Matt sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

"First off, I'd like to say that I don't think I did anything wrong. All I did was make a move you should have made. We had the info, we had the manpower, but you still didn't approve an operation that I still managed to pull off on my own with no support."

The sudden defiant outburst surprised a few of the captains, but none raised their voices. They only listened.

"I saved a fellow Soul Reaper…a fellow Soul Reaper who's extremely important to me. I dare any of you to say that you would have done otherwise in my position, and if you do, then I don't know how you call yourselves captains in the first place. Whether you like it or not, I was out there doing the Court Guard squads job, _your_ jobs. I thank all of the captains who actually showed up to help and who supported me, and for all those who didn't, well…you missed one hell of a party."

"If you want to punish me, then punish me. No matter what you do to me, do it knowing that I've got a clear conscious."

After Matt's voice faded, the room was dead quiet for a moment before Yamamoto spoke up again.

"You make a strong argument. And as unexpected as it may seem, I can understand your motives," he said.

"You're truly lucky; if this had been a few years ago, you would have been executed, but we've modernized our laws over the last few years. We are willing to overlook most of these charges based on your actions and intentions, however the Central 46 is still demanding some sort of repercussion for your action. So let the record then show that your status as Deputy Soul Reaper for the city of Seattle, Mathew Anderson, is now revoked and nullified effective immediately. You will however, be allowed to remain a Soul Reaper and work and live in the Soul Society."

The verdict didn't surprise him in the slightest. He knew after this little fiasco, the Soul Society wasn't going to just let him run around willy-nilly anymore. He was just wondering where he'd end up.

"Your placement will be decided at a later date; for now, we are completing preparations for your permanent move here."

"So what about my family; are you just going to erase me from the world, make it was like I never existed?" he asked, more out of curiosity than anger.

"Everything concerning your life in the human world will be reset back to before you became a deputy soul reaper. As far as anyone in the human world -save for Miss Nelson- is concerned, your last year as a soul reaper never happened and you died a year ago during your encounter with the hollow that resulted in your powers."

"Is that all?" he asked.

Yamamoto nodded. "That is all, you are dismissed."

He nodded again and turned to leave. He caught a look at Toshiro and Ukitake; they both gave him sympathetic nods. He didn't feel as bad as he thought he would though, it went much better than he hoped. He thought for sure there was going to be some sort of prison sentence, and he was sure he had Toshiro and Ukitake among others to thank for eliminating that possibility.

He passed his four friends and pushed his way back out into the sunlight of the Seireitei; his new home.

"Sorry mate, I thought for sure they'd let you slide after all we did," said Nathan, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Besides, with me staying in the Soul Society, I'll be able to hang out with all of you more often. Plus, I've never been one for rules, so I'm sure I can sneak back to Seattle every one in a while and check up on Holly, and if worst comes to worst, she can use that weird gate that Kisuke has."

"Yeah...I guess. I still don't like it though. We just saved the whole damn world practically on our own, shouldn't we get a party, or a parade, or...hell I'd settle for a cake!" he shouted.

He continued his whining and grumbling all the way through the Seireitei. The group in a split in the road, and that's where they had to leave each other.

"I'll see you guys later, I'm staying with Koshino again until I can get a place permanently," waved Matt.

"Alright, see ya around," called Ichigo.

Ichigo, Rukia, and Nathan headed off to the right, while Matt and Koshino went of to the left. The two of them walked in peaceful silence, it was a sunny day with a warm breeze. He had his arm around her waist and her head was against his shoulder, all in all it was more serene than any day they'd had in what seemed like a long time.

"Are you upset?" Koshino asked suddenly.

"A little, but at the same time, I think I need this," he said, looking up at the sky.

She gave him a puzzled look. "How so?"

"Well, I've been dead for over a year now, hell I've died twice! I just think that, no matter how much I might not like it, I need to just let go a little. It's not healthy for me to be clinging to earth so much, I need to move on. In a way, this punishment will help me."

She nodded. "I think I understand. Besides, we'll still see Holly and everyone else."

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to visit her eventually. When she finally does get up here with us, there will be no escaping her, especially if I neglected to visit her."

She giggled. "I'm sure. So how are you holding up physically?"

"Eh, pretty good. I've been feeling a little funny ever since I woke up, but the doctors said it was probably just an after effect from all of the medicines they used on me. Other than that, just a few more scars, and that's not much to worry about," he shrugged.

"You'd better be careful, a few more scars and captain Zaraki might just get jealous," she teased.

"Probably, the guys a psycho freak. He showed up every day when I was in the hospital to ask if my wounds had healed enough to fight yet. I pray to God I don't end up in his squad, and the big guy upstairs owes me one now, I took out Astaroth for him."

Koshino sucked in a breath and sighed. "Well..."

"Well what?"

"Technically, he was still alive after that maneuver you did. It was actually that man we told you about that killed him, the one who brought you back to life."

"Are you kidding me!? All that and I wasn't even the one to kill him! This bites so much ass!" he shouted.

"Calm down, you were still amazing," she complimented.

"Well thank you," he said jokingly.

"But if you ever do something so irresponsible and stupid like that again, you won't have to worry about getting in trouble with the Central 46, you'll have to deal with me," she threatened.

"Now _that's_ scary."

"Oh, and I do believe it's been a half hour, you remember our deal don't you?" she asked sweetly.

He groaned. "Yeah I remember."

You see, after scaring poor Koshino half to death back in Seattle, she'd found a way for Matt to repay her. All he had to do way tell her that he loved her every half hour on the hour no matter where they were or who they were with. Needless to say, it was getting old. Still, he felt that he owed her as much, and it wasn't as if he didn't mean it.

_'Oh well, it's not that bad. Besides, isn't your girlfriend _supposed_ to drive you crazy?'_ he thought to himself.

"Fine, I love you."

"Thank you," she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

He looked up at the sky and thought of something that had been nagging at him since he woke up, but had yet to voice. He wasn't sure what to make of it, and he felt he needed a second opinion.

"Hey Koshino, what do you think happened to Ira. Last time I saw him, he was going off to close that portal at Stonehenge."

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. I do know we'll probably see him again eventually, he's a resourceful person, that's for sure."

"Yeah...that's for sure," he agreed.

She could tell he was worrying again and gently pushed his face towards her. "Hey, don't worry so much. We won and everything is fine now, so just enjoy the peace."

He smiled and nodded. "You're right, what's the worst that could happen."

* * *

Back in the human world, Stonehenge to be specific, a deep red and purple portal still shone in the center of the ancient stone monument. A familiar redhead sat there in front of said portal, muttering chants in the eons old language of demons...a spell of summoning. It had taken him the last two days to complete the spell on his own, but he was finally on the threshold of finishing.

As he muttered the last sentence, the portal suddenly stopped and reversed itself, spinning in a counter clockwise spiral. The spiritual pressure being emitted was frightening yet awe inspiring at the same time. Ira had no fear of it though, he knew exactly who he was summoning, or rather, who he was summoning. He still had plans of his own to fulfill, and he was enlisting some help.

He opened his eyes as he looked on at the figure as he rose from the dark depths of the ninth ring of hell. He was a large man, but not too large, he had brown hair, cool and collected eyes, a small smirk that reminded him of that bastard Astaroth, and he was dressed in all white. The man was levitated over in front of Ira, and as he stood, they stared at each other face to face.

The man was the first to speak. "You've summoned me out of Hell and into the human world...impressive."

Ira's eyes flashed in excitement, this was his man. The one he'd spent two days summoning, the one who would aid him in his own conquest. He felt his hear pump faster just thinking about it.

He stood tall and looked him directly in the eyes. "Lord Aizen, my name is Ira...I have a proposition for you."

**

* * *

Huh, huh? Just when you thought the the twists were over! I would like to thank ****Toshiro-Edward's crazy fan**** for actually inspiring this ending waaaaaay back when I was about halfway through the original story. She mentioned how cool it would have been and it hit me actually just this morning that..."hey, I can actually pull that ending off!"**

**So, if by any chance you happen to be reading this ****TECF****, then I thank you.**

**Review and all such things pertaining to that action, which I heavily encourage.**


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